Two Palestinian girls who each lost a leg in Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip arrived in Portugal on Monday to receive free prosthetic fitting and rehabilitation treatment, humanitarian organizations said.
Dima Qudaih, 16, and Malak Alshirafa, 7, landed at the Porto airport accompanied by family members. They arrived via Egypt, where they had been sheltered since being evacuated from Gaza.
Dima will receive care at Hospital da Prelada in Porto, while Malak will undergo treatment at the Alcoitao Rehabilitation Medicine Center near Lisbon. Specialized medical teams will provide daily rehabilitation and fit each girl with a prosthetic limb.
Portuguese authorities granted visas allowing the girls and their families to remain in the country during their treatment, which is expected to last between six months and one year, depending on their rehabilitation progress.
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The initiative was organized by HEAL Palestine in cooperation with Portuguese groups Parents for Peace and Support Group for Palestinian Refugees in Portugal. HEAL Palestine has helped arrange medical treatment abroad for Palestinian children and other patients unable to receive adequate care in Gaza.
“Portugal has opened a door that very few countries have been willing to open,” said Steve Sosebee, executive director of HEAL Palestine.
UN agencies and humanitarian organizations have repeatedly raised alarms over the large number of children severely injured or amputated during the conflict in Gaza, where widespread damage to the territory’s health system has severely limited access to surgery, rehabilitation and prosthetic services.
