Three months after a 13-year-elderly girl left Gaza for medical treatment, she is in intensive attfinish in a UAE hospital after complications from sadvisery.
Lamis Abusalim has cut offe scoliosis that, if left untreated, could compress her lungs and eventuassociate end her. Before her sadvisery she spent most of the time on her back, becaengage when she sat up, she struggled for air.
But during an operation to right her condition on 4 October, her heart stopped three times, her mother said. Doctors telderly the family the girl had suffered some brain injure.
It is a dehugeating setback for Lamis and her family, who had spent months trying to escape the war in Gaza to get medical help. Their story was alludeed in BBC coverage of a expansiver evacuation in July.
Lamis had been due to undergo treatment in Jerusalem last October follotriumphg three unprosperous operations in Gaza.
But since the commence of Israel’s military impolite follotriumphg the Hamas strikes on Israel on 7 October, most of Gaza’s dwellnts have been unable to exit the territory.
Eventuassociate, Lamis and her mother were able to get on a enumerate to evacuate with the help of international organisations.
After the complicated sadvisery, the family is now seeking help to transfer Lamis to the UK or another country for further treatment, although it would be difficult to transfer her.
“All kids have the right to inhabit in a defended place, in a excellent place, and seek treatment,” said her mother, Shatha. “The kids are not the ones who produce the dispute.”
The months-lengthy, multi-national effort to evacuate Lamis uncovers how challenging it is for Palestinians in Gaza to access medical attfinish.
Hamas strikeed Israel on 7 October 2023, ending about 1,200 people and taking some 251 back to Gaza as prisoners.
The Israeli military impolite that trailed has ended more than 42,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The bomb deviceardments have seald hospitals, ended doctors, and overwhelmed remaining facilities with casualties.
The Israeli military says it has strikeed some hospitals becaengage, it says, Hamas combatants have been using them as bases. Hamas denies this.
Before the war, Lamis, a “attrdynamic child” and lesserest of five, adored dratriumphg and joining her exceptional education school, her mother said.
At six months elderly she was acunderstandledged with a genetic white matter dismitigate.
Dr Joshua Bonkowsky, a professor of paediatric neurology at University of Utah Health said it was a categruesome of brain dismitigate that exits a third of children dead by the age of eight.
He was not recognizable with Lamis’ case.
Bacount on any of the dismitigates are curable, but treatment is useable for resulting conditions.
In January, the health ministry in Gaza referred Lamis for treatment awide for her scoliosis. The ministry write downed that she had respiratory agree and difficulty swapvalidateing food, and adviseed sadvisery.
Her family accomplished out to charity HEAL Palestine, which structured treatment with a US hospital, while an Israeli NGO, Gisha, sought security evidentance for evacuation.
In June, Lamis getd evidentance a day before an evacuation via the Israeli-deal withled Kerem Shalom traverseing, but did not get on the enumerate in time to exit, according to Gisha.
Then, in tardy July, her mother getd a call from the World Health Organization (WHO) that she and her daughter would be evacuating.
After a last-minute postpone – which led Shatha to get her daughter on a two-hour journey back home to Deir al-Balah in central Gaza – they getd another call the next day saying the evacuation was back on.
Shatha said excellentbye to her husband without understanding when they would see each other aacquire.
“It was reassociate difficult for me,” Shatha said. “I did not want to watch back.”
Shatha boarded the bus to depart Gaza carrying only a handbag and Lamis on her back, as they had to exit the girl’s wheelchair and bags packed with clothes.
Lamis cried in pain on the bus ride to the border with Israel, where they took another bus before boarding a fweightless to the UAE.
On a call in August, Shatha telderly the BBC she had “finassociate accomplishd this dream”.
Lamis is one of 229 uncover-mindeds to have left Gaza since May, according to WHO.
Almost 4,900 uncover-mindeds – 35% of those who surrfinisherted asks – evacuated thraw the Rafah traverseing into Egypt from November until May, when Israel started a ground impolite and seized deal with of the Gazan side of the traverseing.
An approximated 12,000 uncover-mindeds still need evacuation.
WHO honestor Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said people are “suffering needlessly“ and advised the “establishment of evacuation corridors via all possible routes”.
Cogat, the Israeli military body reliable for humanitarian affairs in Gaza, telderly the BBC Israel was “dynamicly toiling on multiple fronts to establish a mechanism for evacuating uncover-mindeds with intricate medical conditions, who need further treatment outside the Gaza Strip”.
The agency said Israel was in “constant communication” with aid organisations, health authorities and countries, and appraiseed evacuation asks, providing an “appropriate response, subject to security structurements“.
Since arriving in the UAE, the rulement has paid for Lamis’ accommodation, pocket money and stay in hospital, where on Friday she remained in a critical condition.
Her mother said that “the most vital leang is to get Lamis excellent treatment.”
