Two-year-old Shamm Qudeih’s journey from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip to a hospital in Naples, Italy, is a testament to both the fragility and resilience of childhood amid conflict. When she arrived in Italy in August 2025, Shamm was severely emaciated, weighing just about nine pounds—barely half the median weight for a child her age. Her story, as reported by multiple outlets including Associated Press and France 24, has captured the attention of the world, shining a spotlight on the devastating effects of war, blockade, and rare disease on Gaza’s most vulnerable.
Shamm’s ordeal began long before her evacuation. Born just weeks before the October 7, 2023, attack in which Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage, her early life was shaped by conflict and deprivation. As the Israeli response unfolded, resulting in what Gaza health officials say are more than 64,000 deaths over nearly two years, Shamm’s family found themselves constantly on the move. Her mother, Islam, described a relentless cycle of displacement: “We have been displaced maybe about 15 times, from tent to tent. We walked long distances and, along the way, it was hot, and the sun was hitting us.”
The family’s struggle was compounded by Shamm’s rare genetic metabolic disease, glycogen storage disease, which interferes with the absorption of nutrients—especially carbohydrates—and can cause muscle weakness and impede growth. The condition is primarily managed through a high-carbohydrate diet, but in Gaza, medical supplies and specialized foods had become nearly impossible to obtain. Doctors suspected the condition but lacked the means to test for or treat it properly. Sometimes, all they could offer was antibiotics, a far cry from the specialized care Shamm needed.
As the Israeli blockade tightened—aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages—food and medicine grew scarcer. According to Associated Press, more than half a million people in Gaza, a quarter of the population, were experiencing catastrophic hunger by August 2025. Gaza City, in particular, was reported to be in a state of famine. The United Nations warned that starvation and malnutrition in Gaza had reached their highest levels since the war began, with nearly 12,000 children under five suffering from acute malnutrition in July, including over 2,500 with severe, life-threatening cases. The World Health Organization suggested these numbers likely understate the true scale of the crisis.
It was in this dire context that Shamm’s evacuation became a lifeline. She was one of seven Palestinian children flown to Italy for urgent medical treatment, part of a larger group of 181 children receiving care in the country, as confirmed by the Italian Foreign Ministry. About one-third of these children arrived after March 2025, when Israel ended a temporary ceasefire and imposed a two-and-a-half-month blockade on all imports, including food and medicine.
A striking image of Shamm, taken by freelance Associated Press journalist Mariam Dagga on August 9, 2025, captured the severity of her condition: hair matted, ribs protruding, her tiny body clinging to her mother’s arms. Tragically, Dagga was killed just days later, on August 25, in an Israeli strike that claimed the lives of 22 people, including four other journalists, at the same hospital in southern Gaza. Islam, who had gone to school with Dagga, recalled her friend’s support: “She was always coming to the hospital to check on me and Shamm… She stayed until the last step of the stairs to say goodbye to me.” Learning of Dagga’s death after arriving in Italy, Islam said, “I was upset when I heard and knew that she had died.”
At Naples’ Santobono Pausilipon Children’s Hospital, Dr. Daniele de Brasi, a pediatric genetic disease specialist, took charge of Shamm’s care. “She was in a serious and challenging clinical state,” he explained. Her initial weight of nine pounds was alarmingly low, but with a carefully managed diet—including a special carbohydrate-rich porridge and a feeding tube to ensure overnight nutrient intake—Shamm has made significant strides. As of her second birthday on September 7, 2025, she had gained more than three pounds, reaching just over 12 pounds. “We are very satisfied with her progress,” said Dr. De Brasi. However, he cautioned that her weight is still well below the median for her age, and her caloric intake, currently around 500 calories a day, must be increased gradually to avoid complications. “In these cases, growing too fast can cause problems,” he noted.
Shamm’s recovery is not just a medical story but also a family one. Her 10-year-old sister, Judi, accompanied her to Italy as a family member. Doctors soon discovered Judi was also underweight by about 7 to 10 pounds. With proper nutrition, Judi has gained nearly five pounds and is now in good condition. Their mother, Islam, is finally allowing herself a measure of relief. Yet, the thought of returning to Gaza remains out of reach. “Now there is no way to go back, as long as the war is going on. There are no possibilities for my daughters,” she said.
Italy’s role in treating Palestinian children like Shamm is part of a broader humanitarian response. The Italian Foreign Ministry has facilitated the arrival and care of these young patients, many of whom suffer from conditions exacerbated by war, displacement, and the blockade. The medical teams in Naples and other cities are not only addressing acute malnutrition but also working to manage chronic and genetic diseases that went untreated in Gaza’s strained health system.
The broader backdrop remains grim. Israel has denied that starvation is occurring in Gaza, asserting that it allowed sufficient aid to enter both before and after the tightened blockade and that supplies have increased in recent weeks. These claims, however, are contradicted by numerous accounts from witnesses, United Nations agencies, and international experts who describe a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in real time.
For Shamm, each small victory—a smile, a few ounces gained, the ability to sit up and play with her sister—carries enormous weight. Her story, closely followed by international media, has become emblematic of the struggles faced by countless children in conflict zones, where health, safety, and even survival hang in the balance. As her mother and doctors look ahead, their hopes are modest but profound: continued recovery, stability, and—someday—a safe return home.
In a world too often defined by tragedy and loss, the story of Shamm Qudeih is a rare glimpse of hope, resilience, and the enduring power of care, even as the shadows of war linger over her homeland.