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Each patient arrives not only with injuries but with a chapter of this ugly war’s history.
In May, Israel entered Rafah, and the border was closed, blocking access to the hospital. By the end of the summer, the U.A.E. had found a new way out for the wounded — a humanitarian flight aboard a converted passenger jet to a housing complex in Abu Dhabi.
Evacuating the injured by plane is not without its risks. Patients can go into shock midair. Sudden drops in blood pressure could prove deadly.
Cancer treatment in Gaza was difficult before the war and is impossible now. Oncology patients, along with injured children, are prioritized for evacuation. A man with a brain tumor entered the plane and whispered something to a doctor making the rounds. “He wants to smoke,” the doctor said.
The doctor moved on to Shams Awida, an 18-year-old who lost most of her eyesight in an attack that damaged her face.
Three hours later, the flight touched down. Earlier that morning they were in Gaza. Now they were in Abu Dhabi, an unfamiliar land.
The childhoods that were shattered by war are taking shape again. For the first time, schools are places of learning, not shelters from airstrikes. Children play on a soccer field between the buildings during the day.
Children who lose a leg often refuse to try walking on a prosthetic limb, at least at first. But trainers coax them to try. Other children who have also lost legs form bonds with new arrivals and help them learn to walk again.
For the younger children, daily life is often about finding new friends who share their struggles.
But while these Gazans have found safety here, they have not found certainty. They still wonder: Will Israel allow us to return? And what will happen to those we left behind?
Paolo Pellegrin is a Magnum photographer. His most recent book is “Event Horizon,” a collection of images from conflicts and showing the effects of climate change. Nicholas Casey is a staff writer based in Madrid. He previously wrote about Issa Amro, a Palestinian activist in Hebron, who advocates for nonviolent resistance.
