The first planeload of Palestinian children wounded in the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip reached the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, part of a pledged relief effort by the country to aid 1,000 children.
Quick Read
- Evacuation of Palestinian Children to the UAE: The first plane carrying Palestinian children wounded in the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip arrived in the United Arab Emirates. This is part of the UAE’s commitment to help 1,000 children affected by the war.
- Journey from Gaza to Abu Dhabi: The group, consisting of 15 individuals including children and their relatives, crossed the Gaza Strip’s Rafah border into Egypt. They flew from El-Arish in Egypt to Abu Dhabi.
- Conditions on the Plane: On the plane, some children, exhausted, slept on their mothers’ laps. Seats were removed to accommodate critically wounded children on stretchers. Many children had bandaged limbs, while the atmosphere was described as somber and quiet.
- Personal Accounts of Suffering: Twelve-year-old Amr Jandieh recounted being injured and losing consciousness during a missile strike, which also killed his uncle and injured his father. Mohammed Abu Tabikh, 14, suffered neck and spine injuries from a car strike. Nabila Mahmoud and her daughter Rawan, who had a broken pelvis, were also on the flight, having lost 13 family members in a missile attack on their home.
- The Ongoing Conflict: The war, in its seventh week, was instigated by a Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, resulting in significant casualties and abductions. Israeli military retaliation in Gaza has led to over 11,400 Palestinian deaths, with many women and children affected, and a considerable number of people missing under rubble.
- UAE-Israel Relations: The UAE, a federation of seven emirates including Dubai, established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020. This evacuation effort is part of their larger humanitarian initiative amidst the conflict.
The Associated Press has the story:
1st group of wounded Palestinian children from Israel-Hamas war arrives in UAE
Newslooks- ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP)
The first planeload of Palestinian children wounded in the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip reached the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, part of a pledged relief effort by the country to aid 1,000 children.
The group of 15 people, including children and their family members, made it across the Gaza Strip’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Friday. They then took a flight from the Egyptian city of El-Arish to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.
Young children lay asleep on their moms’ laps as the plane finally landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Some of the seats of the plane were removed to make room for the most critically wounded children, who needed to lie on stretchers.
Some of the young had bandaged arms and legs. Others sat quietly next to their parents or relatives. Some traveled alone. The mood was somber and quiet inside the plane. Many of the mothers said they were exhausted.
Twelve-year-old Amr Jandieh, his eyes welling up with tears, said he traveled to the Emirates alone.
“My dad, uncle, and I were talking on the street,” Jandieh said. “My uncle was killed. My dad was injured … all of a sudden a missile hit and I lost consciousness. I woke up and found myself in the hospital.”
Mohammed Abu Tabikh, 14, was one of the more seriously wounded children on the plane. He suffered injuries to his neck and spine when a car he was traveling in was hit in a strike.
“When I got injured, I felt shock. And then I stopped moving,” he quietly said before being brought carefully out of the plane.
Nabila Mahmoud traveled from the Gaza Strip with her 17-year-old daughter Rawan, who suffered a broken pelvis. Mahmoud said their house was hit by a direct missile and 13 of her family members were killed.
The war, now in its seventh week, was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. The militant group also abducted some 240 men, women and children.
Israel’s ongoing retaliatory military strikes on Gaza has so far killed more than 11,400 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, according to Palestinian health authorities. Another 2,700 have been reported missing, believed buried under rubble.
The UAE — a federation of seven emirates on the Arabian Peninsula also home to Dubai — has diplomatic relations with Israel following a 2020 recognition deal.
