Gaza war: Injured Palestinian boy takes first steps in Jordan

Nine-year-old Rami Katoush attempted to kick a soccer ball for the first time since being injured, a moment his mother watched with evident pride. This marked a significant milestone in his recovery journey. He had traveled to Jordan for treatment last month after receiving approval from the Israeli military to leave Gaza.

Rami dreams of playing soccer like Cristiano Ronaldo one day. However, he still experiences pain and quickly tires, needing to rest on a plastic chair. His bandaged legs, one still in a splint, are covered in scars and appear fragile, indicating the extent of his injuries.

Doctors in Gaza had suggested his family consider amputating both of his legs. But because his eight-year-old brother, Abdul Salam, had already lost his right lower leg due to injury, Rami's mother, Islam, pleaded with surgeons to save Rami's limbs. At their home in Maghazi, central Gaza, Islam said an Israeli airstrike targeted the building next door while the family slept in their third-floor apartment, causing rubble and shrapnel to rain down on the children.

Tragically, Rami's twelve-year-old brother, Mustafa, was killed; his body was torn apart by the blast. Islam recounted that his heart was pierced by shrapnel and was not found until two days later. The family buried his heart separately. The United Nations reports that at least 14,500 children have reportedly been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with many more suffering severe injuries. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths.

Medical evacuations from Gaza are crucial, as the healthcare system there has collapsed. Only 20 of the region's 35 hospitals are partially functioning, and there are shortages of essential medicines and equipment. An estimated 30,000 Gazans—like Rami and Abdul Salam—have suffered life-altering injuries and require years of rehabilitation. Since the Rafah crossing with Egypt reopened on February 1, it has facilitated the evacuation of hundreds of patients. However, it is estimated that 12,000 to 14,000 people—including 4,500 children—still need to be transferred out for treatment.

Rami's mother told the BBC that Rami endured several surgical procedures without painkillers, anesthesia, or antibiotics. His wounds became severely infected and infested with maggots. Doctors believed his legs were beyond saving. "Rami was in so much pain, he was screaming 'God, you've taken my brother, now take me too!'" Islam said, highlighting the desperate situation they faced.

In January of this year, a rare opportunity arose—Rami and his mother were evacuated to Jordan to receive treatment at a reconstructive surgery hospital in Amman, the Jordanian capital, run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The hospital is currently treating 13 children from Gaza but has the capacity to accommodate more. "This is the only hospital I know of that provides both physical and mental rehabilitation for war victims," said Marc Schakal, MSF's project manager for Jordan, Syria, and Yemen. "It's multi-disciplinary care; it's not just surgery."

Rami has a psychologist, surgeons, and physical therapists supporting his recovery. He also receives food, clothing, and education from MSF's small "Future School," a bright, prefabricated building on the hospital grounds. After missing so much education, he is eager to learn. However, he also misses his father, Mohammed, and his brother, Abdul Salam—who needs a prosthetic leg but was unable to leave Gaza with him. They are grateful for his treatment, but both he and his mother are anxious to return home as soon as possible.

"Gaza is beautiful," Rami told me. "In Gaza before the war, we used to be able to get medical treatment, but then the aid stopped." With the facilities and expertise at the MSF hospital, he is now making rapid progress. His physical therapist, Zaid Al-Kaysi, said, "He came in a wheelchair. He is very motivated. He wants to go back to his friends and family. He wants to make his father proud." He also wants to swim in the sea in Gaza again, a symbol of returning to normalcy.

Psychologist Zainoun Al-Suna said that, for all Palestinian patients, not knowing whether they will be allowed to return to Gaza is another huge stressor in addition to their trauma. Sharing a ward with Rami is Abdul Rahman Madhoun, an introverted and traumatized five-year-old boy who also needs leg surgery. In October 2023, his mother and siblings were killed in an airstrike while he was in his mother's arms. In a hospital in Gaza, a nurse trying to cheer him up told him that his mother had turned into a star. "Since then, he looks up at the sky at night, looking for the stars and talking to them," said his aunt, Saba. "He doesn't talk to other people. But I hear him saying to the stars: 'Mom, I've eaten, Mom, I'm going to sleep.'"

The psychological trauma of the hospital's patients is often more severe than their physical injuries. "Some people will never recover," said Roshan Kumaraswamy, the hospital's medical director. He said that patients from Gaza will require reconstructive surgery for years to come due to the "unimaginable scale of the injuries." But Rami is strong and determined. When he breaks down crying thinking about Mustafa, he assures me "it's okay." When he and his mother manage to connect with his family in Gaza via video call, Rami is eager to show them how he can now stand on his own two feet. His father cheers him on, saying, "Rami, you are a hero." Now his family has another reason to celebrate—Rami's brother, Abdul Salam, and his father have also just received permission from Israel to leave Gaza for Jordan. In the coming weeks, he should be fitted with a new prosthetic leg, allowing both injured boys to relearn how to walk.