Injured teen from Gaza arrives in Boston for medical treatment

Rahaf Al-Dalou, 14, arrived in Boston's Logan International Airport on Sunday to a welcoming scene. Dozens of people held up colorful signs, balloons and Palestinian flags.

One of the faces in the crowd of strangers was a familiar one: Al-Dalou's aunt, Nagat Abdel-Nasser El-Khalili, who embraced her niece in an emotional reunion.

Rahaf "is part of me and she’s part of Gaza," El-Khalili said in Arabic.

Al-Dalou is one of 11 children injured in the war in Gaza that the nonprofit HEAL Palestine is bringing to the U.S. for medical treatment this month.

Two other girls also arrived in the U.S. on the same flight: 12-year-old Seba Abuabeda, who has had both legs amputated and is heading to Seattle to continue her medical care, and 12-year-old Rahaf Abuawwad, who is heading to Columbus, Ohio to be treated for chronic medical conditions.

The Ohio-based organization brought 62 Palestinian children to the U.S. so far, most of them with amputations and serious burns. The group helps secure the children's passage to the U.S. and coordinate with hospitals across the country that can provide medical attention for free. While here, the children and a family member stay with host families or in hospital housing.

Al-Dalou will be treated in Boston for burns and shrapnel wounds. She was injured in an Israeli airstrike that killed her mother and three of her siblings, according to HEAL Palestine. It was the same airstrike in October that drew heavy condemnation when it set fire to a tent encampment outside of the hospital. Her father and one living brother are still in Gaza.

"It’s so, so difficult for me," El-Khalili said of her reunion with her niece. "Because then I remember my [late] sister, her [late] kids, then I remember my kids."

Her aunt has been in the U.S. for more than a year with her cousin, Adam, who is getting medical treatment in Dallas following a leg amputation.

El-Khalili still has family in Gaza, including seven daughters.

"They're scared and they're hungry," she said. "Last time I saw them [by phone], they looked so thin from lack of food. It's hard for me to eat knowing that."

Al-Dalou is the fourth child to receive medical care in Boston through HEAL Palestine. She arrived in Boston with her paternal aunt.

Martha Miller, a nurse practitioner in Boston and member of Doctors Against Genocide, was at the airport to greet the children. She said she felt compelled to show support for the families arriving from Gaza.

"To offer a welcome to someone who has gone through so much," Miller said. "I'm very upset about what our government and our country is doing in Palestine, and so it's a way to do something positive."

The latest conflict between Hamas and Israel started almost 22 months ago, after Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. Israel's ensuing onslaught has killed at least 60,000 Palestinians in the Gaza strip so far.

When a ceasefire ended in March, Israel announced it would stop all food and supplies from entering Gaza. The aid restrictions have drawn global condemnation. The United Nations and the World Health Organization are warning that many more could die from starvation. The U.N. estimates that 100,000 Palestinians face malnutrition.

In response to international outrage, Israel has said it would allow some aid into Gaza but aid agencies say it's nowhere near enough.