An 11-year-old Palestinian girl and her 13-year-old brother, who were both injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, left the territory on Wednesday for treatment in Türkiye. The Palestinian siblings are being brought to Türkiye upon the instructions of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Palestinian family left the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing into Egypt, where they will board a plane from Cairo International Airport to Türkiye. On Aug. 6, Rahaf and Mohammed were injured by shrapnel from an Israeli missile that struck the town of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, according to their father Khalil Salman. Rahaf's feet and right hand had to be amputated. She also suffered an abdominal injury, broken collarbone and dislocated shoulder. Her brother was injured by shrapnel in the pelvis and chest. He also had a broken knee and suffered a hand injury, his mother said.
On Aug. 9, the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, announced that Erdoğan agreed to provide medical attention to Rahaf in Türkiye.
"We were informed through a call from Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh that the Turkish president agreed to treat Rahaf in Türkiye, and accordingly Hamas representatives engaged in contact with relevant Turkish authorities to complete her travel procedures," Salman said. "This approval came after an appeal made by Rahaf to Türkiye to agree to receive her for treatment," he added.
The Palestinian father said upon their arrival at Cairo airport that "a private Turkish plane will be waiting for them to transport the two children to a hospital in the capital, Ankara." He expressed his hope that the two wounded children would receive the necessary care so they can enjoy the rest of their lives with self-reliance. "Rahaf needs very special health care, whether it be the installation of limbs for her feet or hand, or the provision of a suitable environment so that she can live with her new physical condition," the father said. He pointed out that his child also needs "psychological treatment after her exposure to psychological stress following the injury, which led to excessive anxiety and irritability." He thanked the Turkish president and government for standing by his family and his daughter.
On Aug. 5, the Israeli army launched a three-day military operation in the Gaza Strip, targeting the Islamic Jihad group. At least 49 Palestinians were killed, including 17 children, and hundreds injured in the offensive, which came to a halt under an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire.