When 6-year-old Deema al-Shaqar from Gaza's Khan Yunis kept getting headaches and high fevers, her family finally decided in March 2018 to seek professional medical advice. Doctors concluded after lab tests that she had leukemia and referred her to the Huda Al Masri Pediatric Cancer Department, an oncology center for Palestinian children with a modern cancer ward at Al-Hussein Government Hospital.

The problem is that this hospital is in the West Bank city of Beit Jala. There are no cancer treatment centers for children in Gaza, meaning that Deema's family members must get a permit from Israel to travel — where they are searched at the Erez checkpoint — and then repeat this process for each round of Deema's chemotherapy.

While getting a permit for Deema isn't always difficult, the same can't be said about getting permits for her adult companions. Israeli military travel permit procedures are very difficult. It is next to impossible for a male who lives in Gaza to travel to the West Bank; even female adults need to be over a certain age. Deema's mother is only 32, a young age for the abhorrent policies of the Israeli security permit system. Normally, children — especially sick ones — get travel permits. Women over 45 years of age are eligible for permits in general.

Deema's 45-year-old aunt, Karima Husnai Salameh — a nurse in Gaza — was asked by the family to accompany the sick child to the West Bank. She has to apply for a permit every time.