A 20-year-old Palestinian woman, Marah Abu Zuhri, who was evacuated from Gaza to Italy for medical treatment, has died in a hospital in Pisa. She arrived on an Italian government humanitarian flight on Wednesday night, along with her mother and other critical patients.
The University Hospital of Pisa stated that Zuhri had a “very complex clinical picture” and was “in a profound state of organic wasting.” After undergoing tests and starting treatment, she suffered a sudden respiratory crisis and cardiac arrest on Friday, and died. Italian news agencies reported that she was suffering from severe malnutrition.
Zuhri was among 31 critically ill patients brought to Italy on three Italian air force flights this week. Since the war began between Israel and Hamas, more than 180 children and young people from Gaza have been evacuated to Italy.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned last month that “the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.” According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 227 people have died from malnutrition since October 2023, including 103 children.
Thousands of sick children in Gaza still require urgent medical evacuation. Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for OCHA, highlighted the case of seven-year-old Janah, who was back in hospital with aggravated malnutrition after previously recovering. More than 14,800 patients remain on waiting lists for evacuation.
