by theo farrant  & AP
It’s published
When two-year-old Shamm Qudeih arrived in Italy from Gaza last month, she was weakened and barely resurrected.
She recently celebrated her birthday at a hospital in Naples, gaining weight with a special diet and began to smile again – a small but surprising step welcomed by a doctor treating her for severe malnutrition, aggravated by a rare genetic disease.
Just a few weeks ago, the toddler was all skin and bones when he clung to his mother at a hospital in southern Gaza. For months, they were unable to receive the food and treatment needed due to Israel’s lockdown, which aimed to pressure extremists in Hamas to release hostages.
A video shot by Associated Press freelancer Mariam Dhaga on August 9 showed siamese in a hospital, plastering her mother’s arm and ribs protruding. A few days later, the toddler was evacuated to Italy with six other children for emergency care. This footage was one of the last filming of Daga – she was killed on August 25th in an Israeli strike at the same hospital.
Almost a month later, Siamese is sitting in the bed at Santo Bono Pauli Ripon Children’s Hospital in Naples, with a T-shirt with the words “cute” written on her chest. She lights up when her mother and sister call her name.
Dr. Daniele de Braj, a pediatric genetic disorder specialist who treats small girls at Santobono Pauli Ripon Children’s Hospital in Naples, weighs 4 kilograms (9 pounds) when she arrives.
She is currently 5.5 kilograms (over 12 pounds), which is still less than half the median weight of a child of her age.
The doctor says a “big part” of her nutritional deficiency comes from a genetic metabolic disorder called glycogen storage disease, with preliminary testing confirmed.
Shamm was suffering from malnutrition born just weeks before October 7, 2023, weeks before the Hamas-led militants attacks.
Her mother, Islam, had difficulty accessing proper medical care and visited many hospitals and clinics. “The environment Shamm had to live had an impact on her. We had about 15 difficulties avoiding from tent to tent. We walked long distances and it was hot and the sun was hitting us.
In Naples, infants receive nutrients overnight through feeding tubes, but during the day they eat porridge, meat and fish. Her 10-year-old sister Judy is underweight in thighs and has earned 2 kilograms after she arrived.
Malnutrition in Gaza
Shamm’s recovery comes amidst the backdrop of a serious crisis of hunger in Gaza. Last month, the United Nations said it was hunger. Malnutrition in Gaza It was at the highest level since the war began.
Approximately 12,000 children under the age of five were found to suffer from acute malnutrition in July. The World Health Organization says this number is likely shortfall.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said no one was hungry for Gaza and said adequate aid was provided during the war.