Yazan Al Kafarna was a 10-year-old boy who loved to smile and play. He had cerebral palsy, a condition that affects movement and coordination, but he did not let that stop him from enjoying life. He lived with his parents and siblings in Beit Hanoun, a town in the northern Gaza Strip, where he attended a special school for children with disabilities.
But everything changed when the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated in October 2023, triggering a devastating war that lasted for months. Yazan and his family were forced to flee their home and seek refuge in different places, eventually ending up in Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. There, they faced a dire situation of hunger, poverty, and lack of medical care. Yazan’s health deteriorated rapidly as he suffered from severe malnutrition and dehydration. He became a skeleton of his former self, weighing only 5 kilograms at the time of his death on March 4, 2024.
Yazan’s tragic story is not an isolated one. It reflects the plight of millions of Palestinians living in Gaza, a besieged enclave that has been under a crippling blockade by Israel for over 15 years. The war has worsened the humanitarian crisis, leaving many people without access to food, water, electricity, medicine, and other basic needs. Children are especially vulnerable, as they face the risk of malnutrition, disease, injury, trauma, and death.
In this article, we will explore the causes and consequences of the famine in Gaza, the challenges and efforts of humanitarian aid, and the message that Yazan’s father shared on social media before his son passed away.
The Message of Yazan’s Father on Social Media
One of the most heartbreaking and touching stories that emerged from the famine in Gaza is that of Yazan Al Kafarna, a 10-year-old boy who died of hunger and malnutrition on March 4, 2024. His father, who witnessed his son’s agony and demise, took to social media to share a poignant message, accompanied by a photo of his son before the war, depicting a healthy child.
In the video, which went viral and sparked an outpouring of sympathy and support, Yazan’s father lamented how the onset of conflict stripped away their access to essential resources like food and medical care. He emphasized the drastic decline in Yazan’s health due to malnutrition, vividly contrasting his son’s previous well-being with his current fragile state. He also appealed to the world to end the siege and the war that caused so much suffering and death for the children of Gaza.
Yazan’s tragic story is not an isolated one. It reflects the plight of millions of Palestinians living in Gaza, a besieged enclave that has been under a crippling blockade by Israel for over 15 years. The war has worsened the humanitarian crisis, leaving many people without access to food, water, electricity, medicine, and other basic needs. Children are especially vulnerable, as they face the risk of malnutrition, disease, injury, trauma, and death.
Yazan’s father’s message is a cry for help, a call for action, and a reminder of the human cost of the conflict. It is a message that should not be ignored or forgotten, but rather heard and heeded by the international community and the parties involved in the conflict. It is a message that demands an immediate and lasting solution to the crisis in Gaza, one that respects the dignity and the rights of the people, and one that ensures a peaceful and prosperous future for the children like Yazan.
Yazan Al Kafarna Death Cause
| Name | Date of birth | Date of death | Cause of death | Place of death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yazan Al Kafarna | 2014 | 4 March 2024 | Hunger and malnutrition | Al-Najjar Hospital, Rafah, Gaza |
Yazan Al Kafarna’s Father Video
The Causes and Consequences of the Famine in Gaza
The Gaza Strip is a coastal territory that measures about 365 square kilometers, roughly the size of Philadelphia. It is home to about 2 million Palestinians, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the world. According to the United Nations, about 80% of the population depends on humanitarian aid to survive, and about 60% live below the poverty line.
The main cause of the famine in Gaza is the blockade imposed by Israel since 2007, following the takeover of Hamas, a militant group that is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and its allies. The blockade restricts the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza, limiting its access to markets, trade, and resources. Israel says the blockade is necessary to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons and launching attacks, but critics say it amounts to collective punishment and violates international law.
The blockade has also affected Gaza’s health system, which is overstretched and underfunded. It has limited its access to medical equipment, supplies, and personnel, as well as its ability to refer patients to specialized care outside Gaza. It has also increased the risk of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, which has claimed over 1,000 lives in Gaza since the pandemic began. According to the UN, about 50% of the essential drugs and 28% of the essential medical disposables in Gaza are at zero stock, meaning they have less than a month’s supply left.
The war lasted for four months, until a ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and Qatar on February 7, 2024. According to the UN, the war killed over 2,500 Palestinians, including over 600 children, and injured over 17,000 others. It also displaced over 500,000 people, about a quarter of Gaza’s population, and damaged or destroyed over 20,000 homes and buildings. The war also disrupted the delivery of humanitarian aid, as Israel imposed tighter restrictions on the crossings and the airspace, and as the security situation prevented the access and movement of aid workers and vehicles.
The Challenges and Efforts of Humanitarian Aid
Despite the dire situation in Gaza, there are still some humanitarian organizations and agencies that are trying to provide relief and assistance to the people in need. These include the UN and its agencies, such as the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO); as well as international and local NGOs, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and Islamic Relief.
These organizations and agencies face many challenges and obstacles in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, such as:
- The blockade and the restrictions imposed by Israel on the entry and exit of goods and people, which limit the quantity and quality of the aid that can reach Gaza, as well as the ability of the aid workers to operate and coordinate effectively.
- The security and safety risks posed by the ongoing conflict and violence, which endanger the lives and the assets of the aid workers and the beneficiaries, and which hamper the access and the movement of the aid convoys and vehicles.
- The lack of resources and capacity of the local authorities and partners, which affect the delivery and the distribution of the aid, as well as the monitoring and the evaluation of the aid impact and outcomes.
- The lack of trust and cooperation between the different parties and stakeholders, such as Israel, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, the donors, and the civil society, which create political and bureaucratic hurdles and delays in the implementation and the delivery of the aid.
