"Italian Medics to Perform Cure on Adam from Chan Junis"
By: Andrea Affaticati, Milan
It's damn late when the plane touches down on Milan's Linate Airport's military runway. Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, with a soccer ball in hand, is also present. The plane, an Italian Air Force C-130, had taken off from the Israeli airport of Eliat-Ramon and carried some extraordinary passengers—injured innocents. Some lie on stretchers while others walk with bandages covering their heads, arms, or legs. Among them, five kids, two girls, and three boys, all maimed.
The spotlight, however, falls on the 11-year-old Adam. The attention he gets is due to his fate. In a bombing attack by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on May 23rd, nine of his siblings, aged between three and twelve, lost their lives. His father, Dr. Hamdi Al-Najjar, a pediatrician like Adam's mother, Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, also perished.
On Mother's Day, Alaa was at work at the Nasser Hospital when her home was bombed. When she returned, she could only recognize one of her dead children due to the severe burns on the others.
A New Lease on Life in Italy?
When the world heard of the Al-Najjar family's plight, Italy promptly offered to bring Adam to Italy for medical care. Italy has a solid reputation for conducting medical evacuation missions, having airlifted 133 young patients from the Gaza Strip to date. If adults are included, the total number of patients and their family members transported stands at 150 and 450, respectively. Italy ranks fourth worldwide in arranging these life-saving missions.
This time, there were 17 severely injured patients and 53 family members on board the three flights that landed in Italy on Wednesday alone. Such missions are the direct result of tireless diplomatic efforts by the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv, the General Consulate in Jerusalem, and various council officials. Moreover, the EU Civil Protection, World Health Organization, Italy's Ministry of the Interior, and Ministry of Defense were all involved in making these missions possible.
Foreign Minister Tajani said, upon the arrival of the C-130, "Italy will always provide sanctuary and care for children from war zones, regardless of where they originate."
As soon as they arrived, the patients were transported to hospitals in Italy based on the type and severity of their injuries. Each hospital also accommodates the accompanying family members and provides an interpreter.
Severe Burns Covering 60 Percent of the Body
Adam, after being admitted to the hospital following the attack on his home in Khan Yunis, was reported to have burns covering approximately 60 percent of his body. Thus, he was transferred to the Milan hospital, renowned for its specialized burn center. This hospital has been a beacon of hope for children from conflict zones for decades, offering psychological support to victims who have endured unimaginable horrors. Alaa, Adam's mother, requested this support for her son.
According to a pre-evacuation interview in "La Repubblica," Alaa stated that Adam's condition was stable, but his left arm was in poor condition, with multiple fractures and damaged nerves. Adam himself told the Turkish news agency Anadolu: "The injury affects my left hand, there's a problem with the nerves, I have no feeling in my fingers. I still feel strong pain." The current status of Adam's burns was not mentioned.
Adam's mother expressed her gratitude toward Tajani and Italians for enabling her to escape war and for guaranteeing her son's necessary medical care. Before flying to Milan, she expressed her sorrow for leaving Gaza, stating that there were so many people suffering there. But the well-being and recovery of her only surviving child now takes precedence.
Source: ntv.de
- Italy
- Gaza
- Israel War
- Children
- The Italian government, known for its employment of medical evacuation missions, transported a total of 150 patients and 450 family members from the Gaza Strip, with children making up a significant portion of these numbers.
- In the midst of the ongoing political tensions between Italy, Israel, and Gaza, conversations about health and wellness have emerged, particularly regarding the care and treatment of children with medical conditions, such as those sustained by 11-year-old Adam Al-Najjar who was airlifted to Italy for specialized burn care following an Israeli bombing in Gaza.
- The science of medicine, coupled with the politics of diplomacy, played a crucial role in the evacuation efforts for Adam Al-Najjar and other injured innocents, allowing them to seek treatment in a community that promised a safer and healthier environment amidst the turmoil of war and conflicts.
