King Hussein Bridge, Dec 2 (Petra) – Amid the hardship facing Gaza residents due to illness and the collapse of essential services, Jordan’s humanitarian efforts continue to extend support through the medical corridor ordered by His Majesty King Abdullah II to receive patients and wounded from the enclave.

The eighteenth group of children and their companions arrived via the King Hussein Bridge on Monday, carrying stories burdened by the wounds of war and hopes pinned on treatment in Jordanian hospitals after a long journey of waiting and navigating checkpoints.

Beneficiaries of the eighteenth batch of the humanitarian medical corridor provided as a royal gesture by His Majesty the King for Gaza’s patients and wounded told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) of the warm reception and generous care offered by Jordan Armed Forces personnel, doctors and nurses, easing their suffering after extended delays and strict procedures at Israeli military checkpoints.

The mother of 13-month-old Salam Mansour, who has suffered from an enlarged heart muscle since birth due to the shortage of medical resources and medicines in Gaza, said her joy was immense when her daughter was transferred through the medical corridor to Jordan, known for its advanced health care and highly skilled medical staff.

Manal, mother of four-month-old Salma, who has had a heart defect since birth, said the decline in medical follow-up in Gaza led to a deterioration in her daughter’s condition, adding that hope remained with them until they received a referral for treatment in Jordan.

She said this hope was fulfilled through a royal gesture from His Majesty the King to save "a child as delicate as a flower." Alaa Tottah, from Gaza City, expressed her gratitude to Jordan and to His Majesty King Abdullah II for the Kingdom’s constant support for the Palestinian people and efforts to ease their pain, praising the extensive work being done to treat large numbers from the Strip and ensure their comfort throughout their stay.

She said she had heard many stories of people who completed their treatment in Jordan and returned to Gaza after recovering.

Alaa, 25, spoke of her long struggle with bone deformities that deprived her of a normal life, expressing hope that she would find in Jordan the treatment that could restore her ability to live normally.

Shorouq Masoud, mother of three-and-a-half-year-old Mahmoud, who suffers from cancer in his left eye, said the lack of medical capacity in Gaza forced doctors there to decide on removing the eye. She turned instead to the opportunity for treatment in Jordan, convinced of the Kingdom’s advanced health care and its ability to offer what Gaza’s hospitals could not.

Ghassan Meqdadi said his son Obaida was hit by a projectile while trying to secure aid for his family, causing fractured bones in his arm and torn ligaments that left him unable to move it.

He said their repeated hospital visits in Gaza led nowhere due to the absence of necessary medical resources, adding that hope for treatment became possible only in Jordan, given its advanced medical capabilities.

The Jordan Armed Forces evacuated the eighteenth group of sick children from Gaza on Monday, in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, as part of the military’s ongoing medical and humanitarian operations to provide health care and medical support to Gaza’s population. The group included 16 patients and 51 companions and arrived under royal directives to ease the humanitarian suffering of Palestinians in the Strip. The children will receive treatment in Jordanian hospitals.

//Petra// AF