Lina Zyiad Hasan Abu Ea'mar, 17 (left) with Palestine Children's Relief Fund representative Ghada Al-Gharably (middle) and Mira Baher Khaled Ayash, 9 (right) at Raslouw Private Hospital. Photo: Umamah Bakharia
Two Palestinian children wounded in Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip have arrived in South Africa for critical medical treatment at the Raslouw Private Hospital in Pretoria under a partnership with the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) and the nonprofit, MealSA.
Nine-year-old Mira Baher Khaled Ayash arrived last week for a skin graft after one of her legs was severely injured in an explosion.
The second patient is 17-year-old Lina Zyiad Hasan Abu Ea’mar, who suffered a severe femoral fracture in an explosion on 5 December and was later diagnosed with avascular necrosis, which requires surgical intervention and specialised care.
Representatives from the groups said they began the process earlier this year of bringing children with complicated medical conditions to South Africa to receive medical care after being evacuated from Gaza to Egypt.
“The initiative was launched as part of the hospital [and MealSA’s] ‘Gift of Mobility Programme’ to facilitate the treatment of children that have been physically affected by the war in Palestine and this is only the beginning of the treatment programme,” one of the hospital’s directors, Dr Ismail Mitha, told a media briefing on Thursday.
The hospital’s chief executive, Dr Iftikhar Ebrahim, said more patients from Gaza are expected to arrive in coming weeks.
“We have started the process of documentation with the PCRF to bring other children from Gaza who have sustained life-threatening injuries,” Ebrahim told the Mail & Guardian.
He added that Raslouw Private Hospital and MealSA have asked other hospitals in South Africa to provide medical treatment for injured Palestinian children.
Since January, the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund has coordinated the evacuation of more than 120 Palestinian children from Gaza. South Africa joins Turkey, Spain, Egypt, Qatar, the United States and the United Arab Emirates in offering medical attention to Gaza’s wounded children.
The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund explained that an injured child is placed on a list for countries to offer medical assistance, after which the fund then facilitates the patient’s documentation and evacuation approvals through Egypt.
“We are very happy that South Africa has opened the doors for our children and we will be waiting for others to also come and receive medical treatment,” said PCRF representative Ghada Al-Gharably, who accompanied the children from Egypt to South Africa.
The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund said the initiative would not be possible without assistance from the department of international relations and cooperation.
It is not yet clear what will happen to the patients once their treatment is complete. But Al-Gharably said that based on previous cases, the patients might be sent back to Egypt once their rehabilitation is over.
Since the war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, more than 17 000 children have been killed while 20 000 are missing and 10 000 more have been displaced or trapped under the rubble. Many still remain unidentified and more than 25 000 children have been left with no surviving family.
The World Health Organisation says about 5 000 people have been evacuated for medical treatment outside of Gaza, with another 10 000 still awaiting evacuation.