Padova, Italy – Abdullah, 10, barely lifts his gaze from his tablet as he plays his favourite video game, where he creates a virtual universe that lets him be anything he imagines.The beeping of the chemotherapy infusion pump delivering drugs into his veins briefly brings his attention back, and he fumbles for the charger of the plug-in device before resuming his game.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listHis mother, Iman Ismail Mohammad Abu Mazid, says he picked up the gaming habit after leaving Gaza on May 14 for the Italian city of Padova to receive life-saving treatment for leukaemia.Back in Deir el-Balah, the city in central Gaza that the family called home, he was a “very sociable child” who “would always be in the streets playing football with his brothers and other children his age,” she told Al Jazeera, before looking through her phone to retrieve a picture of the boy she remembers.In it, three well-groomed children look at the camera. Abdullah has the same calm look, but his hair is now longer and his skin has a tinge of yellow. Standing beside him in the picture is Mohammad, who is now 11, and Mahmoud, who is eight. Towering above them and proudly placing his arms on their shoulders is their father, Ahmad. Abdullah, right, his brothers Mahmoud and Mohammad, left, and father Ahmad [Courtesy of Im …
