Between Pain and Hope: Batoul Al-Mashharawi Awaits a Journey That May Offer Her a Chance at Treatment
Batoul Al-Mashharawi, 19, has been lying in Al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza for over a year after being hit by shrapnel from an Israeli rocket in her head, causing severe brain injury. She breathes through a tube and is fed through another, and has received a referral for treatment outside Gaza but has not yet been transferred. Her brother Alaa confirms that her condition requires capabilities unavailable in the Strip, while the family fears the long wait.
Batoul Al-Mashharawi, a 19-year-old Palestinian girl, has been lying on a hospital bed in Al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City for over a year, unable to speak or move, after being hit by shrapnel from an Israeli rocket in her head on May 17, 2025, while returning from an educational center to her home in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza. The injury caused a skull fracture and severe brain bleeding, and she underwent two surgeries, but her condition remained critical. Batoul breathes through a tube in her neck and is fed through another tube in her stomach. She has received a referral for treatment outside Gaza, but she has not yet been transferred, amid the declining capacity of the health system in the Strip. Her brother Alaa, a paramedic working at the Baptist Hospital, says her condition requires capabilities not available in Gaza, and notes that changing the breathing tube every two months costs more than 500 shekels, which is unavailable due to the Israeli blockade. Her mother Sherine recounts the details of the injury and expresses her hope that her daughter will regain the ability to move and speak. The article highlights the family's suffering and their long wait to travel for treatment.