BBC Eye: Gaza children face infections and mental health crisis as attacks continue

Nearly a year after a ceasefire was supposed to end the fighting in Gaza, an investigation filmed through the summer has documented the toll on children. More than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli military disputes this figure.

The investigation focuses on six-year-old Raseel Albalawi. She was sleeping in her tent in Al-Mawasi camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, when witnesses say she was hit by an Israeli attack. She was rushed to Nasser Hospital with her family. Her nine-year-old sister was killed.

Raseel has undergone more than 20 operations to clean her wounds since she was admitted. The infections are not responding to the antibiotics available to her. Hospitals in Gaza have high rates of multidrug resistance. Doctors warn that immunity weakens and that patients may need surgery every day or every other day. One doctor said the number of amputees will rise daily over the coming years even if the war stops.

Raseel recently had a seizure lasting four to five minutes. Doctors say a piece of shrapnel lodged in her brain is causing the seizures and cannot currently be removed.

Israel says it allows medicines, including antibiotics, to enter Gaza without restriction. But humanitarian organisations and medical staff across Gaza told the investigation that there are major shortages of essential drugs. In displacement camps, much of the water and sanitation infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged. Bacteria spreads through the water system, and rats and other pests are thriving, increasing the risk of disease.

Bombardment remains a constant threat. On 1 September, Israeli forces carried out a series of airstrikes during a raid near a school. At least four people were killed, including two children. The Israeli military says its forces were capturing the head of Hamas's internal security service in a ground operation.

One student, Lara, was supposed to go to school that day. She is heard saying she is fed up with life. Her father was killed last year while searching for food.

UNICEF says nearly all children in Gaza require urgent mental health and psychosocial support. Raseel's wounds are still not healing. She kisses a doll named after her sister. The Israeli military said it has no record of the strike that hit Raseel's family. Raseel and her father have been given permission to leave Gaza for her treatment. But thousands of injured children are still waiting for essential medical resources or evacuation.