BEIRUT — When Zarifa Nawfal’s family arrived in Beirut for their injured daughter’s surgery, one of the first things they wanted to do was go to the sea. The Mediterranean was a constant companion in their home in Gaza before the war.

“As soon as I smelled the sea, I felt peace, as if I were in Gaza,” he said.

But soon their refuge reminded him of home in much sadder ways.

Nawfal’s 7-year-old daughter Halima Abou Yassine, British-Palestinian surgeon Dr. He is one of a dozen seriously injured Palestinian children brought to Lebanon for treatment this year through a program launched by Ghassan Abu Sitta.

But months after their arrival, Lebanon itself involved in a war Some fear it will result in Gaza-like destruction.

In February, Nawfal was staying in an apartment in central Gaza with her five children and her mother. They had been displaced from their homes in the north, and Nawfal’s husband was missing, possibly dead.

Nawfal said children were outside filling water containers when the two missiles hit. He ran outside and found the youngest, Halime, lying on the street; His skull was cracked and his brain was exposed.

Nevfal explained his shock as follows: “I was relieved because his body was in one piece.” Explosions in Gaza often tear people to pieces, leaving their loved ones without even a body to bury.

Halime’s brother was unconscious next to her. He was brought back to life in a short time at the hospital. However, staff at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital confirmed Nawfal’s fears and said: Halima was dead. His little body was placed in the morgue.

However, the family said that the little girl’s uncle noticed faint signs of life while preparing to bury the little girl.

Officials at Al-Aqsa Mosque hospital could not be reached to confirm the account. But Abu Sitta, who worked in several Gaza hospitals during the war, said that in this chaotic environment, it was not uncommon for patients to be mistakenly identified as dead because normal protocols for emergency room examinations were often abandoned.

“Due to the large number of cases coming in with each airstrike… ambulance personnel were immediately taking people they thought were dead to the morgue,” he said.

In the days when it became clear that her daughter was alive, Nawfal stayed by her side and manually pumped oxygen into her lungs. A week later, the little girl started breathing on her own. He finally woke up.

“Some of the doctors cried and said it was a miracle,” Nawfal said.

However, they could not do more than keep the little girl alive. The skull was still open and a piece of bone was missing. His brain was beset by infection.

The family was evacuated to Egypt in May. In July, they boarded a plane to Lebanon.

The first of the injured Palestinian children arrived in Lebanon in May. Five-year-old Adam Afana nearly lost his left arm in the explosion that killed his father and sister. His arm was paralyzed and he needed complex surgery to repair the nerve damage.

At the time, Lebanon was already in the middle of a simmering conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanese militant group began firing rockets at Israel from the border to support your allyHamas on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Palestinian militants launched a deadly surprise attack on southern Israel, sparking the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel responded with bombardment and air strikes.

For months, the conflict in Lebanon was mainly confined to the border area far from Beirut.

Abu Sitta said he chose Lebanon for the treatment of injured children because the Mediterranean country has experts with extensive experience in treating war injuries.

Lebanon has had its share of conflicts, including a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990 and a brutal month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, as well as spillover effects from other regional conflicts.

“Even after the wars in Lebanon ended, injured people from Iraq and Syria were coming here for this type of complex, multi-stage treatment,” Abu Sitta said.

In July, Halima underwent successful surgery to repair her skull at the American University of Beirut Medical Center.

Nawfal said her daughter had permanent memory problems but recovered with therapy. Halime, a cheerful and cheerful child, did well in Beirut. He swam in the hotel pool, loved coloring and played with other Gazan children. He was walking with his siblings to pick fruit at the neighborhood produce stand, covering the scar on the back of his head with a straw hat.

In mid-September, Israel launched an operation. Attack against Hezbollah. IT Destroyed large parts of Lebanon Air strikes were carried out, including in Beirut’s southern suburbs and some locations in the city centre.