In a makeshift displacement tent beside the local park in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, lies 12-year-old Bilal Zanon. His frail body exposes the depth of suffering caused by the Israeli siege, and his pale face encapsulates a long story of pain and waiting.

Bilal does not suffer from a rare, untreatable disease. He has celiac disease—a well-known medical condition that requires only one thing: access to gluten-free food. But in Gaza, even what seems simple can turn into a battle for survival. After 22 months of genocidal war and the starvation policy imposed by the Israeli occupation, Bilal’s basic right to health and nutrition has become impossible to secure.

In a weak voice, carrying the exhaustion of his small body, Bilal told PCHR’s field researcher:

“My hands, legs, and head hurt, and I always have diarrhea. I can’t run or play like other kids. Even walking makes me tired, so I stay lying on the mattress. I wish I could eat bread, pasta, noodles, sweets—everything that other people eat.”

Symptoms and Discovering the Disease

In December 2024, Bilal began showing symptoms: swelling in the abdomen and feet, persistent headaches, hair loss, and recurrent diarrhea.

His father, Mahmoud Zanon (36), who lost his home and job in Rafah due to the war, took him from hospital to hospital in Khan Younis and Rafah, seeking answers. But the exhausted health system, stripped of basic diagnostic tools, failed him.

“We went to the Red Cross Hospital… then Nasser Hospital. Endless tests without a diagnosis. Even the celiac test was not available—I had to do it in a private lab, which I couldn’t afford,” says Mahmoud, who had been working as a shoe seller before losing his job when the Israeli army invaded Brazil neighborhood in Rafah in May 2024.

It was a coincidence that played the role of the doctor. During a visit to Nasser Hospital in January 2025, a relative told him that Bilal’s symptoms resembled those of his own daughter, who had the same disease. Based on this, further specialized tests were done, and Bilal underwent an endoscopy. The biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of celiac disease.

“We cut out wheat, flour, bread—anything with gluten. We focused on meat, poultry, fruits, and vegetables. He improved a lot during the first month,” his father explained.

The Siege Deepens the Suffering

But the improvement did not last. In March 2025, Israel closed the crossings, tightened the siege, and prevented the entry of essential foods, especially those needed by patients like Bilal. Meat, fruit, and vegetables disappeared from the markets—or became unaffordable. With no income, the family could no longer provide the diet Bilal needed.

In a context where all Gaza residents face starvation to some extent, Bilal’s struggle was worse. The disease returned with all its symptoms: hair loss, swollen abdomen, weakness, constant fatigue. He lost nine kilograms, dropping to just 25 kg. He can no longer play or even walk short distances without pain.

Difficult Equations

Every day, Bilal’s father faces impossible choices in trying to feed his son:

“He can eat rice, but too much causes constipation. He can eat lentils, but too much gives him diarrhea. I managed to get a few kilos of corn flour, but it needs special yeast that isn’t available. When baked, it doesn’t rise and becomes dry. Because of this, my son’s suffering has returned. It feels like his growth has stopped.”

“We are not asking for a miracle, just the right food for my son and access to simple treatment that is available everywhere else in the world. Why does it have to be this much suffering?” the father asks.

Bilal’s story is not unique. It is a living testimony to how siege and starvation policies violate the rights to health, food, and dignity. While aid piles up at the crossings, children like Bilal are left to die slowly—victims of an unfolding genocide that Israel commits in full view of a world complicit through silence, inaction, or timid positions.

Bilal and thousands like him do not need words of sympathy. They need urgent intervention to secure at least the minimum of safe nutrition, and a humanitarian system that protects their childhood from deliberate erasure.