JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — At just six years old, Mohammed Imad has already left his home country after his family said he survived a deadly bombing.
He was flown out of Gaza with help from the HEAL Palestine nonprofit, which helps families and children affected by the war in the Middle East.
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HEAL Palestine said Mohammed is one of 26 kids it helped bring from Gaza to the U.S. for treatment after being hurt in the violence.
Mohammed’s mother told Action News Jax, through a translator, that they fled their family’s home in Gaza because of a nearby bombing.
She said the tent they stayed in was also the site of a nearby bombing, which sent debris flying right into her 6-year-old son’s head, shattering his skull. She said Mohammed’s 9-year-old brother died in the bombings and his sister was severely hurt.
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Ranna Abduljawad, who works with HEAL Palestine, said, on average, the kids the nonprofit has helped fly from Gaza to the U.S. are between five and seven years old.
“One of the first to arrive in the U.S. was 70% burnt on her body from a bomb landing near her house in Gaza, so a lot of them are in severe medical need,” Abduljawad said.
Mohammed’s mother said she was terrified to come to the U.S. since she doesn’t have family here and had just left her home, but she’s feeling much better after the warm welcome she and Mohammad received at Jacksonville International Airport. Both she and Abduljawad say they are hoping for peace for families still in Gaza.
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“We really just want this to end, want this to stop for the sake of the kids,” Abduljawad said.
HEAL Palestine says Mohammed is part of a group of four kids from Gaza flown to the U.S. for treatment. One of them just arrived in Tampa, another recently flew to Orlando. Mohammed is staying in Jacksonville for a skull implant procedure at Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
HEAL Palestine said the kids who come to the U.S. are staying on temporary, pre-approved visas while they are treated. Once the treatment is complete, we’re told they will be flown back out of the country.
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