Farouq Abu al-Naja was supposed to attend school for the first time this year, but he died five days before the beginning of the school year, following months of Israeli delays in granting him an exit permit to access urgent medical treatment.

Six-year-old Abu al-Naja, a resident of the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, died on Wednesday, 24 August, two weeks after his last delayed appointment.

"We submitted two applications [to the Israeli authorities] to transfer Farouq to a hospital in Jerusalem. For eight months, we kept receiving 'request under review' replies," his mother, Kholoud Abu al-Naja, told Middle East Eye. 

Abu al-Naja suffered from brain atrophy and was referred by the Palestinian Ministry of Health to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem for urgent medical treatment.