Four children from the Gaza Strip in Palestine who have been severely injured by Israeli attacks or are suffering from acute malnutrition have entered the United States for treatment, as reported by The New York Times on the 5th.
These children arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport after boarding a plane from Cairo, Egypt.
At the airport, about 50 volunteers from relief organizations welcomed children from the Gaza Strip with toys, flowers, and balloons.
The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) arranged for these children to travel to the U.S. with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) help.
The children were chosen based on introductions from hospitals in the Gaza Strip and stories posted on social media. Among them, the youngest, three-year-old Bilal Junaidro, had her entire head, except for his eyes, nose, and mouth, wrapped in bandages.
According to the PCRF, this girl, who was in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, suffered third-degree burns on her face from an Israeli airstrike, and local treatment was impossible. She will be treated at a hospital in Dayton, a city in southwestern Ohio.
Another child, 11-year-old Adam Abu Azwa, was severely injured in the lower body and head when the shelter he was staying in was attacked with grenades and rockets on January 16th. His mother and siblings were killed.
His sister, 26-year-old Zaina Abu Azwa, was also seriously injured and came to the U.S. for treatment with him.
Zaina said, “There are no words to describe how horrific each moment was,” and added, “I am solely focused on bringing my brother to America for proper treatment. Inshallah (an Arabic word meaning God willing), we will return.”
Rakan Aldardasawi, 9, was injured in an Israeli airstrike and trapped under debris for several hours before being rescued. A hospital in Galveston, Texas, will take over his treatment.
A pale-faced 6-year-old boy, Fadi Alzant, will also receive treatment in the U.S. He suffers from a genetic disease called cystic fibrosis and, due to the war in Gaza Strip, has developed severe malnutrition, leaving him dwarfed, with protruding ribs and weighing only about 24 pounds.
Fadi received treatment after his mother posted a video pleading for help on social media, drawing the attention of many people.
Last month, on the 24th, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concern over the increasing number of child victims in a statement, saying, “A child in the Gaza Strip dies or is injured every 10 minutes,” and called for an immediate ceasefire.
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