Palestinian girl who lost arm in Israeli attack arrives in UK for treatment after US visa snub
The Independent follows Mariam Sabbah from Gaza to Heathrow. It says FAJR Global evacuated her to Egypt, and that Project Pure Hope stepped in to bring her to the UK for specialist care.
The Independent reported on the arrival in the UK of Mariam Sabbah, 10, who lost her arm when a missile hit her family’s home in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. She was greeted at Heathrow airport by a small crowd with gifts, balloons and bouquets, and arrived with her mother and two brothers. The family had hoped to go to the United States for treatment, but the US halted visitor visas for all Palestinians in August 2025, and the State Department denied the family’s visa.
The Independent says FAJR Global, a US-based medical charity, evacuated Mariam from Gaza to Egypt and worked to secure specialist reconstructive and rehabilitative care. She still needs limb lengthening, a custom prosthesis and pediatric reconstructive surgery for her pelvic injuries.
When the US route closed, Project Pure Hope, a UK-based charity, stepped in. It had identified Mariam as a candidate for evacuation to the UK, where privately funded specialist care could be arranged through its network of pediatric hospitals. The article does not quote anyone from FAJR.
The report also puts Mariam’s case in context. It says more than 11,000 patients have been evacuated from Gaza since October 2023. More than 18,500, including about 3,800 children, still need urgent evacuation, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
For FAJR’s work, the story shows that an evacuation does not end when a patient leaves Gaza. Mariam’s care continues in a new country, with a partner charity.
