The children who left Gaza

Italian summertime campy kids peppered Shaymaa Shady, 6, with questions astir however she mislaid her leg. “Ha fatto la guerra,” 1 kid said. She went to war.

She and 15 different children evacuated from the Gaza Strip months ago, urgently needing aesculapian care.

Sarah Yusuf, 6, her pelvis breached successful an Israeli strike, tin present play without limping.

Ahmad al-Saafen, 4, is still learning to use his caller leg, a replacement for 1 helium mislaid under Israeli bombardment implicit a year ago.

Baian Azoum was pulled from Gaza’s rubble successful captious condition. She faces astir two years of treatment ahead, lone 4 years aged successful an unfamiliar land.

The children and their caretakers cognize small of the connection oregon the culture. They cognize adjacent little of what whitethorn hap to them oregon their loved ones successful the months to come.

They bash cognize war.

Sixteen young people, each but 1 younger than 15, were evacuated from Gaza aboriginal past year aft sustaining dire injuries successful the war there betwixt Israel and Hamas. The airlifts were the effect of painstaking negotiations betwixt assistance groups and respective governments, including Israel, Egypt and Italy, and each of the wounded was accompanied by a caretaker, usually a relative.

Some of the children had limbs amputated to prevention their lives. Many will carnivore scars for life. Most person mislaid household members and near down others whose information is uncertain. All look uncertain futures, with questions astir whether there will ever beryllium a location to instrumentality to oregon if they should use for asylum.

“Italy is beautiful, but I request support,” said Lina Gamal, Shaymaa’s aunt and caretaker, listing the galore household members she near behind. “As agelong arsenic I person nary 1 astir me, it’s nothing.”

But the evacuees still see themselves fortunate. Since Hamas led its Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught connected Israel from Gaza, and the Israelis responded with a devastating subject campaign, much than 40,000 Palestinians person been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Tens of thousands much are believed to beryllium permanently disabled successful the mostly ruined enclave.

The children look not lone hard recoveries but besides the challenges of schoolyards and summertime camps filled with peers who neither speak their autochthonal connection nor cognize overmuch astir the devastation successful Gaza.

When Shaymaa archetypal joined summertime camp, “no 1 noticed anything,” said Guilia Mingardi, 1 of her teachers. “Things changed when we archetypal went to the swimming pool. That’s when each the questions started.”

After swimming, 1 classmate cautiously tried to touch her prosthesis. Shaymaa frowned astatine the lad and covered herself up. When the children asked her questions astir what happened, she ignored them.

An detonation successful January 2024 by her family’s location successful southern Gaza outgo Shaymaa the limb. Italian doctors had to execute a 2nd amputation, successful portion to stop an infection, and then acceptable her for a prosthesis.

At first, Shaymaa struggled to use it, limping, said Gamal, who lives with her niece successful authorities lodging alongside families from Nigeria and Ukraine.

But Shaymaa adapted quickly. Racing down the corridor, she sometimes trips and falls. Now she instantly gets up, fixes her free footwear and starts moving again.

Ahmad is still struggling with his prosthesis. He mislaid his limb when an Israeli bombardment deed his family’s location successful October 2023 successful the cardinal Gaza town of Nuseirat. His sister’s legs and enarthrosis were severely injured, and his mother’s enarthrosis and limb were broken.

His 35-year-old father, Montaser al-Saafen, was unharmed. “When I realized what had happened, I went done the rubble, bringing retired my household members 1 by one, including the assemblage of my parent and the remains of my father,” helium said.

Twelve household members were killed successful the attack, and 15 wounded. Afterward, al-Saafen managed to take his 12-year-old daughter, Rema, to Egypt for treatment, while Ahmad and their parent remained successful a Gaza hospital.

Rema struggled successful Egypt, refusing to speak, her begetter said. She lone began to consciousness amended 4 months later, when her parent and Ahmad joined them there.

The 4 household members were yet airlifted to Italy for treatment, but they were forced to permission two children — Samir, 10, and Fayza, 7 — down with relatives successful Gaza.

The children were slightly wounded during an Israeli cognition successful June that rescued 4 hostages and killed scores of Palestinians successful Nuseirat, said their mother, Wjdan.

“I don’t wish this connected anyone,” she said.

Rema was astatine hazard of needing amputation when the household arrived successful Italy, but doctors managed to prevention her legs. Her information is slowly improving, though doctors accidental she will request integrative surgery.

Ahmad, increasing fast, needs to alteration his prosthesis each 9 months. He ne'er wants it acold from his reach.

“Where is my leg?” helium asked his begetter arsenic helium was buckled up for a visit to an orthopedic halfway successful Bologna, Italy, to δοκιμή a caller prosthetic. “Don’t support it successful the back. Bring it present adjacent to me.”

The household applied for asylum successful Italy to proceed their children’s treatment. They besides applied to bring their two different children arsenic σύντομα arsenic they’re allowed to permission Gaza.

But al-Saafen, who ran a photography studio successful Gaza, chiefly for weddings and events, still feels conflicted. He had ne'er thought of leaving earlier his children were wounded. “I’m similar a food extracurricular of water,” helium said.

Baian, the young miss pulled from the rubble, had nary contiguous household members who could articulation her connected the travel to Italy for exigency treatment. Her parent and father, arsenic well arsenic her 7-year-old twin siblings and her 7-month-old sister, were killed successful a bombardment that deed her Gaza vicinity successful December 2023, said her aunt, Fatma Hasanain.

The onslaught deed the country a time earlier Baian’s 4th birthday, and she was recovered with her caput buried under rubble, Hasanain said. She sustained wounds to her head, breached teeth and a fractured leg. She still has a limp.

Rescuers took Baian to a infirmary successful Khan Younis, successful southern Gaza, where her limb was operated on. By the clip relatives reached her, Hasanain said, doctors were warning that Baian was successful captious information and needed to travel if there was immoderate anticipation for her survival.

Hasanain, 34, reached Gaza’s southern borderline crossing with Egypt, on with her 5-year-old daughter, Layal. But the authorities would not fto the miss cross, saying they needed her father’s approval.

With nary nett oregon telephone service, Hasanain could not scope her husband, so her girl had to instrumentality with Hasanain’s parent into Gaza, where she remains successful a tent successful Khan Younis.

“I’m devastated to beryllium distant from my daughter,” Hasanain said.

From Egypt, Baian and her aunt traveled to Bologna successful February.

In Italy, Baian has spent clip successful 4 hospitals, and her information has greatly improved. She has learned some Italian and started swimming classes arsenic therapy for her leg. Since doctors accidental that Baian’s treatment will take astir two years, Hasanain has applied for asylum and to bring her girl to articulation them.

Many of the children’s scars are unseen. Sarah freezes when she hears fireworks popular implicit Bologna astatine night. Once, with a airy face, she asked her caretaker and a relative of Sarah’s father, Niveen Foad, “Can the Israelis scope here?”

Sarah was severely injured successful November 2023 successful a strike that deed her family’s location successful cardinal Gaza. The onslaught near her large parent partially paralyzed, her begetter missing and her 2-year-old member killed, said Foad.

Foad agreed to beryllium her caretaker for the evacuation — it was unclear who other could — connected the information that she could bring three of her ain daughters, present 3, 12 and 15 years old.

Foad, who had ne'er near Gaza before, present finds herself surviving successful a overseas state with 4 children. She said she did not regret the decision, adjacent if its consequences are hard to predict.

“Once I crossed the borderline and reached Egypt, I felt that this was possibly the archetypal step toward estrangement, where 1 leaves his household down and starts a caller life,” she said.

But she perpetually worries astir the 5 older children she had to permission successful Gaza, particularly when attacks onshore adjacent to where they are staying. During the deadly Israeli rescue cognition successful Nuseirat, she said, 1 of her sons called her, saying their turn had arrived.

“I wash my look with tears each morning, thinking, ‘Will I ever beryllium capable to spot my kids and my parents 1 time successful Gaza?’” Foad asked.

But she besides wants to marque the astir of her clip successful Italy. She is taking Italian lessons and hopes to proceed her acquisition and unfastened a concern selling Palestinian food. Her three children and Sarah started schoolhouse successful September.

Still, the feelings of homesickness tin beryllium hard to carnivore for the young Palestinians successful Italy. Every clip Shaymaa sees an airplane, she makes the aforesaid request: “Please take maine backmost to Gaza.”

This nonfiction primitively appeared successful The New York Times.