Chicago is home to 4 Gaza children saved through HEAL Palestine nonprofit, the most among U.S. cities
CHICAGO (CBS) – A Palestinian child arrived in Chicago Tuesday to receive life-saving medical treatment, one of now four children who have come to the area to receive life-giving care. That's the most children the nonprofit has brought to any U.S. city.
HEAL Palestine says Sally, 5, was displaced from her home in Gaza and living in a tent when it was struck by an Israeli bomb. The humanitarian organization's name stands for "Health, Education, Aid, and Leadership."
Sally was severely injured and now suffers from a cranial defect, missing a part of her skull. She and her mother were able to come to Chicago and receive free treatment with the nonprofit's help.
"If there is any hitting of her head or trauma to the head, the risk is very significant and could cause her death," Steve Sosabee, director of HEAL Palestine, said.
Neurosurgeons will use a titanium plate to protect her brain from further trauma.
"There are no neurosurgeons in Gaza who could provide her the kind of care that she needed. Many surgeons have either fled or have been killed," Sosabee said.
So far, HEAL Palestine has helped 22 children from Gaza receive care, mental health support, and a home in the United States. Sally is the fourth child to come to Chicago from Gaza.
Sally's arrival comes three months after 14-year-old Khaleel came to Chicago for treatment. He lost both of his legs right below his hips in an Israeli bombing.
"We have seen him transform from a shell of a child who didn't have the energy to live. He didn't want to live anymore because of losing his legs and his prospect of walking and doing things kids his age enjoy doing was over," Sosabee said.
Now, after treatment at Shriners Hospitals for Children, Khaleel is learning to walk again and is even playing basketball.
"Khaleel says he is adapting and scored 6 points in a row in basketball!" said a community member, translating for him at Sally's welcoming event on Tuesday.
Leyan is another 14-year-old from Gaza now in the Chicago area after she lost both her legs in an Israeli bombing. She too can walk again after the help from HEAL and her hospital care team. Leyan was there to welcome Khaleel, sharing the same traumatic bond.
Khaleel, holding a Palestinian flag and with a keffiyeh around his shoulders, wanted to continue the tradition and be at O'Hare International Airport to welcome Sally on Tuesday.
"He made a sign for Sally. He's very excited for her coming, and there are other kids that are coming that are being treated here in Chicago," Sosabee said.
Seven-year-old Baraa came to Chicago in July through HEAL Palestine. He lost his right foot and suffered significant injuries to his arm from an Israeli bomb. His mother and 3-year-old sister joined him. His father and grandmother were killed in their home in Rafah.
The goal of HEAL is to have children return to Gaza, but the borders are closed and controlled by Israel and Egypt. It is also extremely challenging to get children from Gaza into the United States, Sosabee said.
"We have a list of children last week who had been accepted in American hospitals that were denied leaving Gaza, kids like Khaleel with double amputations, kids like Sally, whose missing parts of their skulls," he said.
In the last 12 months, an estimated 11,000 children have been killed by Israel's military while in their homes, displaced in tents, or sheltering in schools, according to Oxfam, a global nonprofit. Over 25,000 children in Gaza lost a parent or became orphans. Since Oct. 7, after Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, over 43,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.
On Nov. 14, a report from the United Nations Special Committee determined Israel's warfare methods in Gaza are consistent with genocide, in part citing Israel's use of AI-enhanced targeting systems they say have overwhelmingly killed children. Israel didn't immediately respond to the UN report, but when Human Rights Watch earlier similarly accused Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity recently, Israel's foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said the claims were "completely false and detached from reality."