Wounded Palestinian children evacuated from Gaza to UAE

Volunteers transport a wounded Palestinian child, who was evacuated from Gaza, off a plane in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, as part of a humanitarian mission organised by the United Arab Emirates [Giuseppe Cacace/AFP]

A group of 15 Palestinians, including eight children and their families, arrived in Abu Dhabi, UAE, by plane for treatment after being evacuated from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, according to the Reuters news agency.

A few of the seats on the plane were removed to make room for the most critically wounded children, who needed to lie on stretchers. Some children had bandaged arms and legs. Some sat quietly next to their parents or relatives, while others travelled alone.

Mohammed Abu Tabikh, 14, was one of the more seriously wounded children on the flight. He suffered injuries to his neck and spine when a car he was travelling in was hit in an attack.

“When I got injured, I felt shock. And then I stopped moving,” he said.

The patients, including some with critical injuries and a cancer patient, were the first to arrive after President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed pledged to treat 1,000 in UAE hospitals. Daily flights are expected to bring more in.

Twelve-year-old Amr Jandieh, who was wounded in the Israel-Hamas war, is assisted upon arrival in Abu Dhabi. [Rula Rouhana/Reuters]

A Palestinian mother and her child managed to leave Gaza for Abu Dhabi via a UAE humanitarian mission. [Giuseppe Cacace/AFP]

A medic assists an injured Palestinian child, one of eight wounded children, as he is transported at Abu Dhabi international airport. [Rula Rouhana/Reuters]

Fifteen Palestinians, including eight children and their families, arrived in Abu Dhabi by plane for treatment after being evacuated from Gaza. [Giuseppe Cacace/AFP]

Volunteers and ambulances wait on the tarmac at Abu Dhabi international airport. The UAE expects daily flights to bring in wounded Palestinians from Gaza. [Giuseppe Cacace/AFP]

Some of the seats on the plane were removed to make room for the most critically wounded children, who needed to lie on stretchers. [Giuseppe Cacace/AFP]

Medical personnel and officials move Mohammed Abu Tabikh, 14, who was wounded in the neck and spine in an attack in Gaza. [Malak Harb/AP Photo]

The evacuation was part of a humanitarian mission organised by the United Arab Emirates. [Giuseppe Cacace/AFP]