Gazan’s first child, wounded from war, arrives in the UK for treatment

Majid Shangobi cannot eat or speak as before. He can’t smile.

But with his wounded mouth, covered by a surgical mask, his eyes shone when he arrived at London Airport Heathrow for a flight from Cairo, with his mother, brother and little sister.

“I’m happy to be in England and I’m being treated,” the 15-year-old told me.

He was trying to get humanitarian aid in the Kuwait area in northern Gaza in February last year, when an Israeli tank shell broke out nearby, breaking his jaw bone and injuring his leg.

“One of my friends helped me and took me to the hospital,” he says. “They thought I was dead. I had to move my hand to show them that I was alive.”

Doctors in Gaza saved his life, and Majid spent months in hospital, breathing through a tracheostomic tube before being evacuated to Egypt in February this year – with the permission of Israel – for more medical treatment.

He is now in the United Kingdom for surgery at the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London to restore the function of his face.

He is the first child Gazan to arrive in the UK for the treatment of military injuries, almost two years in a conflict in which reports were killed or injured, more than 50,000 children were killed or injured, According to the UN UNICEF Children’s Charity OrganizationS

His arrival follows months of work by a group of volunteer medical professionals who gathered in November 2023 to create Project Pure Hope, who helps wounded and sick children from Gazan to reach the United Kingdom for treatment. It is funded by private donations.

“The United Kingdom is home to some of the best pediatric facilities in the world, but while countries such as US, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and many others are activated to help, the UK has not yet done the same,” says Project Pure Hope.

Majid’s arrival in the UK comes less than a week after Prime Minister Sir Karrmer promised to evacuate More seriously injured children, although the government has released some details about the plan.

Majid medical team – all who work for free – will include craniofacial, plastic and orthodontic surgeons, with hospital bills paid by private donations.

“If we are able to give him a face and jaw he can use, then it will not be completely normal, but we hope that he will be able to eat and talk, and the expression on his face will be better,” says lead surgeon Nur Uvaz Jewen, Professor of Pediatric Neuros.

“We hope that this will have a big impact on how he lives and on his future.

“Our hope is that in the coming months we will be able to help many more children like him. This is our collective moral responsibility.”

Doctors at the hospital had previously treated patients from Ukraine, and last year helped separate twins attached to Israel.

Professor Jewen is disappointed that it took so much time for the first Gaza child to be treated for military injuries in the UK.

“As a doctor and as a person, I do not understand why it took us over 20 months to get to this stage,” he says.

Project Pure Hope identifies 30 critically wounded children in Gaza, who hopes to help bring to the UK. It states that the government’s message is “vital and long -term”, but time is essential.

“Every day of delay risks the life and future of children who deserve the chance to live, recover and restore their lives,” said Omar Din, his co -founder.

In April, the volunteer group provided visas for two girls -13-year-old Rama and five-year-old medical conditions throughout their lives to have private funded operations in the UK.

They were Brought to London After being evacuated to Egypt from Gaza, where – with the destruction of the health system there – they did not receive the necessary treatment.

Ever since I met them in early May, Rama also loaded the gene that was deeply injured and withdrawn, is noticeably more playful.

The gene has performed laser surgery to relieve pressure in its left eye, which is at risk of loss. And Rama had a study surgery for a serious bowel condition.

Both girls do well, their mothers say.

But they are sick with concern – it is difficult to eat and sleep – for family members left in Gaza, who are now struggling to eat.

“It’s better than gas here,” Rama tells me. “No bombs and no fear.”

But her friends send her a message from Gaza, telling her that they have not found bread for 10 days, and she says that her bigger brother is sleeping on the street after his first home, and then his tent are bombarded.

“They’re hungry. So I don’t want to eat too. I feel I’m still there with them,” Rama said.

The convinced experts said that this week there is increasing evidence that widespread starvation, malnutrition and diseases lead to an increase in death associated with hunger among 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Majid, who received life -changing injuries while trying to get food for his family, is also worried about his two brothers who are still in Gaza.

“I’m afraid they will die or something will happen to them,” he says. “I just want them to be safe.”