The Palestinian babies stricken by meningitis in Gaza
After suffering with diarrhoea for five days, Awnee al-Jorani, a baby born in Gaza in the midst of Israel’s war on the besieged Palestinian enclave, was taken to Nasser Medical Complex in the southern city of Khan Younis.
The baby’s grandmother told Middle East Eye he had a number of other symptoms, including a high fever and constant crying. He was refusing to drink anything.
After being admitted to the hospital, al-Jorani was diagnosed with meningitis. The baby’s worried grandmother said his mother was not able to breastfeed him because of the lack of available nutrition in Gaza and the stress brought on by Israeli bombardment.
“As you can see, the kid is tired, weak and his condition is poor,” the grandmother said. “He just wails all night and during the day he’s just staring out into nothingness, he’s just frail.”
Growing numbers of children in Gaza are contracting meningitis, with the disease spreading across the Strip and dozens admitted to Nasser Hospital.
