'Traumatised' boy, 4, orphaned in Gaza who lost part of his arm flown to US

04 March 2024 , 16:33

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In the blast, Omar's skin was peeled from his face and he lost his left arm below his elbow (Image: AP)

A four-year-old boy from Gaza who has been orphaned after his parents and sister were killed in an Israeli airstrike has been flown to the US for treatment after he lost his arm in the blast.

Family and strangers worked together to get Omar Abu Kuwaik out of Gaza and to the US, where he has now been given a prosthetic arm. Omar and his aunt, Maha Abu Kuwaik, who brought her young nephew to the US, are now staying in a house run by a medical charity in New York.

Maha says she was glad to be able to help her brother's son, who she now sees as her fourth child after he lost both of his parents. But the mum had to make a horrifying choice - accompanying Omar to the US meant leaving her husband and three teenage children behind in Gaza. They are currently in a sprawling tent camp in the city of Rafah.

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Omar's aunt Maha has left her family in Rafah, Gaza, to bring her nephew to New York for treatment (AP)

Now with Israel carrying out airstrikes in places it told civilians to seek shelter, including Rafah, Maha knows she might never see her family again. Maha said: “My kids love Omar so much. They told me, ‘We’re not children anymore. Go, let Omar get treated. It’s what’s best for him. It’s his only chance.’"

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Speaking about Omar, Maha said he is clever like his late father, who was an engineer, and he used to be an outgoing boy. Now he's often quite withdrawn and doesn't speak very much. He also wonders why they don't have a home like the children he sees in YouTube videos. When you ask Omar a question he will often cover his ears and say: "I don't want to talk".

The four-year-old had started kindergarten just before the war in Gaza broke out. He said: “Kindergarten was nice and I was happy on the first day." But he doesn't want to go anymore as he's scared to leave his aunt's side. After getting on the plane to New York, Omar said: "When I grow up, I want to be pilot so I can bring people places."

Omar's family had to flee their flat in Gaza City two weeks into the war after it was bombed and they all narrowly escaped death. They had bought it just weeks before the war had broken out. Maha's apartment, in the same block, was also hit in the airstrike.

The families were instantly made homeless and decided to split up to seek shelter with various family members. Omar and his family went to stay with his grandparents in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

Two Israeli airstrikes hit the home they were staying in on December 6, killing both of Omar's grandparents, his parents, his six-year-old sister, two aunts and his cousin. The explosion caused the skin to peel off from Omar's face and meant his left arm could not be saved below his elbow.

Omar received treatment in New York, and is now staying in a house provided for him and his aunt by the Global Medical Relief Fund (AP)

Omar was stuck beneath the rubble but rescuers managed to get him out alive and lift him to safety - he was the only survivor of the blast. Adib Chouiki, vice president of Rahma Worldwide, a US charity heard about Omar through the group's humanitarian team in Gaza. "Our view was, anywhere is better for him than being in Gaza," Adib said.

Adib managed to get new passports for Omar and Maha, and Israeli security clearance for Maha to go with Omar from Gaza to Egypt. They were taken to an Egyptian military hospital, where they waited for weeks until US Customs gave them permission to fly to New York on 17 January.

Omar's physical wounds are healing, but he remains very traumatised. Maha said: “I almost don’t sleep. I think about Omar and I think about my kids, and the conditions they’re living in back there in the tents."

Omar was the first Palestinian child who was taken from Gaza to the US by the Global Medical Relief Fund, a charity based on Staten Island. The charity's founder, Elissa Montanti has spent 25 years running the charity and getting free medical care for children who have been hurt in wars or disasters, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hundreds of children have received help and support from the charity and will join what Elissa calls her "global family" as some will return to New York throughout their lives for new prosthetic limbs. Her charity sponsors everything apart from the medical treatment for the child, which is donated mostly by Shriners Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

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When the war in Gaza broke out, Elissa said she knew she had to help, adding: “But quite frankly, I said, ‘How? How will I ever get these kids out when they can’t even get out of Gaza?’”

The deadliest round of the Israel-Palestine conflict in decades broke out on October 7 last year when Hamas militants broke through Israel's security barrier around Gaza. Israel has been bombarding Gaza for five months since that day.

As of Thursday last week, more than 30,000 people in Gaza have been killed and 70,000 more have been injured, according to the Health Ministry. While the ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, it says around two-thirds of those killed are women and children. Out of Gaza's 2.3 million people, 80% have fled their homes, and half of the buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to one assessment.

Lucy Skoulding