SA opens it heart as wounded Gaza kids arrive for medical treatment

Muhammad Amin

Rescuers are flying three Palestinian children into South Africa for treatment of wounds they sustained during the ongoing Gaza genocide, with the first girl, Mira arriving in a wheelchair to a rapturous welcome Friday.
Nine-year-old Mira waved and smiled weakly at the crowd of well wishers that included Dr Ismail Mitha, MD of the Raslouw Private Hospital in Pretoria, where she will be treated.
Mira will be joined by two other Palestinian children, 17-year-old Lina and one-year-old Sanad, who were also wounded by Israeli explosives
They’re part of a group of 40 patients that have been identified for treatment abroad and rescuers are scouring the entire world for accommodating hospitals and doctors willing to assist.
The children will be treated for complex fractures and burns and receive psychosocial support.
Eight companions, including parents and siblings, are also being flown in for emotional support.
Their evacuation marks the first time minors wounded in the war in Gaza have been brought to South Africa. They were brought here by the US-based organisation Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF).
South Africa was chosen after Mitha met Palestinian surgeon Dr Mohammed Barbakh at Raslouw Hospital in January. Barbakh explained to him there were more than 15 000 amputees struggling to survive in harrowing conditions in Gaza. Almost every one of them badly needed specialised treatment to improve their quality of life and to increase their chances of survival.
Barbakh was relieved Friday they were eventually seeing some fruits from all the months of preparatory work: “So finally after severn or eight months of hard work, with the team with people like Dr Mitha, all the people from the hospital, all the people from RSA – actually even I can’t ignore people from the government, from Dirco from that department, that assisted us.
“We are very happy actually, at least now we are starting with one patient from 40, the rest will come soon inshaAllah.
“And really we want huge assistance and help for these patients. And we need advanced surgical, possibly with plastics, in huge numbers. So, we are trying to help as many as we can and thereby make it easier for all of us.”
PCRF has coordinated the evacuation since January of more than 120 Palestinian children from Gaza to the US and other countries in Arabia and Europe.
“We extend our heartfelt thanks to the South African community for their invaluable support in making this mission possible,” Tareq Hailat, head of PCRF’s Treatment Abroad Program, told Middle East Monitor.
“We are committed to expanding this crucial effort, as many more children in Gaza remain in urgent need of medical attention.”
Since October 7, nearly 5 000 people have been evacuated for medical treatment outside Gaza, with another 10,000 still awaiting rescue, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.