Teen from Gaza saved by Bay Area doctor after drone strike awaits prosthetic legs
A teenager who was on the brink of dying in Gaza is getting medical treatment thanks to a team of supporters, including a Bay Area doctor many are calling a hero.
15-year-old Ahmed Abu Obayda suffered unimaginable injuries in a Gaza drone strike earlier this year. He can no longer walk on his own.
Abu Obayda remembers what happened on February 16, 2024, when a drone obliterated the lower half of his body, and more.
Ziad Mustafa is a volunteer translator.
"After he saw with his own eyes what happened to his legs and the amount of bleeding, he thought he wasn't going to make it, really," said Mustafa.
The now 15-year-old says four others around the same age had been working in fields bringing back food to their families. He says one of his best friends died upon impact.
"It's not even real is how he feels right now. He can't believe he lost his organs, his legs. The amputations, it just doesn't feel real," said Mustafa.
Ahmed lost vast amounts of blood, and consciousness. Bay Area Doctor Mohammad Subeh had just begun his first stint of a humanitarian medical mission to Gaza.
"Ahmed kept opening his eyes, and I remember telling him, 'You know, you're going to be okay,'" said Subeh.
Subeh amputated both of Ahmed's legs and three of his fingers, not knowing if he would survive, but giving him hope.
"Despite me not knowing that he'll be okay, I felt like this was the only way, or one small way, I can contribute to easing the pain and suffering that these children were experiencing," said Subeh.
Subeh says Ahmad's smile inspired him, then and now. He still dreams of haunting images and memories amassed from two missions to Gaza, and soon to be a third, this time to Lebanon.
As Subeh embarks on his latest mission, Abu Obayda is getting treatment for burn scars on his face at the Shriners Hospital in Sacramento. He's also waiting for prosthetic legs.
"A child who has an amputated limb in Gaza has zero opportunity to get fitted with a quality prosthetic limb. So all of them need to be evacuated out for care that is otherwise not available," said Steve Sosebee,co-founder of the nonprofit Heal Palestine.
To date, the organization has helped evacuate 21 children from Gaza, to different parts of the United States for medical care, including Ahmed.
"Regardless of where you stand on this issue, politically or from whatever perspective, I don't think anybody is comfortable with the 17,000 children who have been killed there since last October, or the 10s of 1000s of children who have suffered injuries, and in many cases, permanent injuries," said Sosebee.
For Ahmed, telling his story is a way to remind others of what is still happening in conflict zones.
"Overwhelmed is how he feels. He's on his way to recover, of course not 100%, but some recovery is on the way. So he feels hopeful," said Mustafa.
He prays for a ceasefire, but like the rest of the world, is seeing the barrage of missiles lighting up the skies, with seemingly no end in sight.