Palestinian girl who lost arm in Israeli missile attack on Gaza arrives in UK
The Guardian reports on Mariam Sabbah's arrival in the UK for specialist care after US visitor visas for Palestinians were halted. FAJR Global helped make the journey possible.
The Guardian covered Mariam Sabbah’s arrival at Heathrow airport. Mariam, 10, lost her arm when a missile hit her family’s home in Deir al-Balah. She arrived with her mother and two brothers and was met by a small crowd with gifts, balloons and bouquets. The family had hoped to go to the United States, but had been stuck in Egypt since the Trump administration halted visitor visas for Palestinians in August 2025.
The Guardian says Mariam came to the UK for privately funded specialist treatment with help from FAJR Global, which it calls a US-based NGO, and from Project Pure Hope. Project Pure Hope is a UK charity that has helped evacuate patients and their families to the UK since 2025.
Dr. Mosab Nasser, whom the Guardian calls co-founder of FAJR Global, traveled with the family from Egypt and spoke to the paper. He said more lives would be lost because the World Health Organization had announced it would suspend medical evacuations, and that evacuations had already been halted for a long time.
The article also reports that the WHO estimates 18,500 patients in Gaza need urgent care that does not exist there. So far, 50 children and their immediate families have arrived in the UK under the government’s scheme.
For FAJR, the story shows both sides of the work: a child reaching care, and the closed crossings that leave other patients waiting.
