Following a Palestinian family’s plea on social media to save their malnourished daughter in Gaza, the United Arab Emirates evacuated 12-year-old Rahaf Ayyad on Wednesday (May 14) after the World Health Organization (WHO) assigned her case - among others - to the Gulf nation.

Rahaf is now receiving treatment at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, alongside other Palestinian patients from Gaza.

"We were dying there in Gaza - dying of hunger, dying of fear. The situation there is very difficult," Rahaf's mother, Shorouk Ayyad, said.

According Shorouk, Rahaf was diagnosed with severe malnutrition as a result of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the strip.

"Before Rahaf fell ill, she was normal, like any other girl - she used to go to school, was among the top students, she used to play with her siblings, go out, her hair was long, and nothing was wrong with her," she said.

"But because of the displacement and suffering we lived through, after six months of war, her condition began to deteriorate," she added.

Before their evacuation from the European Hospital in Gaza, the family endured a terrifying night when Israeli airstrikes struck in the vicinity of the hospital, killing at least 16 people and injuring 70 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

"It was a difficult night. We didn't expect to live if it weren't for our prayers. Thank God, He saved us. Minutes after we left, they bombed the entire place we were in," Shorouk recalled.

Israel's military had said it hit a "Hamas command center" beneath the hospital. Hamas denies exploiting hospitals and civilian properties for military purposes.

International humanitarian experts have warned of looming famine in the Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people and the growing outcry has pushed Israel to lift an 11-week total blockade on aid supplies.

The United Nations has received permission from Israel for about 100 more emergency aid trucks to enter Gaza, though the first supplies to have entered in weeks were still currently "under Israeli control" and subject to the last stage of checks, a spokesperson said on Tuesday (May 20).

Israel denies that Gaza is facing a hunger crisis. It has said its blockade is aimed in part at preventing Palestinian militants from diverting and seizing aid supplies. Hamas has denied doing so and accuses Israel of using starvation as a military tactic.

Israel's ground and air war has devastated coastal territory, displacing nearly all its 2.3 million residents and killing more than 53,000, according to Gaza health authorities.

The campaign began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities near Gaza's border in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: EVACUATION OPERATION IN BE'ER ORA, ISRAEL / PALESTINIAN EVACUEES FROM GAZA, INCLUDING PATIENTS AND THEIR ESCORTS, IN AIR AND ARRIVING TO ABU DHABI / 12-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN RAHAF AYYAD AND HER MOTHER ON BOARD FLIGHT AND AT SHEIKH KHALIFA MEDICAL CITY IN ABU DHABI / COMMENTS FROM RAHAF'S MOTHER AND TREATING PHYSICIAN

CCTV FOOTAGE VERIFIED BY:

- Kerbs, buildings, trees and signs match satellite imagery and file imagery of hospital grounds

- Date was verified by the date and timestamp on video

- Reuters photographs taken on May 13 also show same craters at that location after the air strikes

Coordinates: 31.30275520793939, 34.320577394916114

SMOKE IN THE DISTANCE FOOTAGE VERIFIED BY:

- Buildings, trees and road layout match satellite imagery near hospital

- Date not verified but Gaza health ministry said nine missiles struck in hospital and courtyard on May 13

- Israel's military also said it conducted strikes on the hospital on May 13

SHOWS: BE'ER ORA, ISRAEL (MAY 14, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. UAE TEAM AND CARGO PLANES WAITING AT ILAN AND ASAF RAMON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

2. PALESTINIAN EVACUEES FROM GAZA, INCLUDING PATIENTS AND THEIR ESCORTS, GETTING OFF BUS AND WALKING TOWARDS AIRCRAFT

3. PALESTINIAN CHILD FROM GAZA, RAHAF AYYAD, WALKING WITH HER FATHER

4. VARIOUS OF EVACUEES BOARDING PLANE

5. A FATHER AND HIS DAUGHTER SITTING IN THE PLANE

6. VARIOUS OF EMIRATI AND ISRAELI MEDICAL PERSONNEL MOVING A PALESTINIAN PATIENT ON A STRETCHER, HELPING THEM BOARD THROUGH A LOADER

7. VARIOUS OF A PALESTINIAN PATIENT, WHO GOT INJURED IN AN ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE IN GAZA, BEING MOVED ON STRETCHER ABOARD UAE AIRCRAFT

IN AIR (MAY 14, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

8. PALESTINIAN PATIENT, WHO GOT INJURED IN AN ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE IN GAZA, LAYING DOWN ON A STRETCHER

9. PALESTINIAN EVACUEES FROM GAZA, INCLUDING PATIENTS AND THEIR ESCORTS, SITTING ABOARD

10. 12-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN CHILD RAHAF AYYAD, CRYING AND BEING COMFORTED BY HER FATHER

11. VARIOUS OF RAHAF RECEIVING AN INTRAVENOUS SOLUTION

12. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOTHER OF 12-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN RAHAF AYYAD, SHOROUK AYYAD, SAYING:

"My daughter has been... since we were displaced to the south, six months after the war (began). It's been eight months that she has been suffering from pain in her bones and legs. The pain first started in her bones and legs. Then, she started to develop swelling in her hands, feet, and face. Her hair started falling, and her body started to weaken. I took her to the health centres we have in Gaza, but they couldn't diagnose her condition."

13. VARIOUS OF SHOROUK FEEDING RAHAF / SHOROUK SAYING (Arabic): "No. In Gaza, she did not eat healthy; because the food that was available to us was not healthy."

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOTHER OF 12-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN RAHAF AYYAD, SHOROUK AYYAD, SAYING:

"Yesterday (May 13), we were in the European Hospital and it was bombed while we were there. Seriously, God protected my husband and son because they were in the yard. If it weren't for God's mercy, they would have died. It was a difficult night. We didn't expect to live if it weren't for our prayers. Thank God, He saved us. Minutes after we left, they bombed the entire place we were in."

KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (MAY 13, 2025) (GAZA EUROPEAN HOSPITAL - No resales / no archive / Must on-screen courtesy Gaza European Hospital) (MUTE)

15. PEOPLE COMING AND GOING IN AND OUT OF HOSPITAL, AMBULANCES SEEN IN BACKGROUND / EXPLOSION TAKING PLACE, SMOKE AND FIRE

KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (RELEASED ON MAY 13, 2025) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT) (SOCIAL MEDIA - No archive / no resales / News use only)

16. SEVERAL EXPLOSIONS, LARGE PLUMES OF SMOKE IN THE DISTANCE / MORE EXPLOSIONS, LARGE PLUMES OF SMOKE

IN AIR (MAY 14, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

17. 12-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN RAHAF AYYAD BEING COMFORTED BY AN EMIRATI PEDIATRICIAN

ABU DHABI, UAE (MAY 15, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

18. AIRCRAFT IN ABU DHABI / LOADER INSTALLED TO MOVE PALESTINIAN PATIENTS

19. AMBULANCES

20. EMIRATI STAFF WAITING / PATIENTS AND THEIR ESCORTS ON LOADER

21. VARIOUS OF RAHAF BEING PUSHED ON A WHEELCHAIR

22. VARIOUS OF RAHAF BEING HELPED TO GET INTO AMBULANCE

23. RAHAF SITTING IN AMBULANCE

24. DRIVER CLOSING AMBULANCE DOOR

25. AMBULANCE DRIVING AWAY

ABU DHABI, UAE (MAY 19, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

26. EXTERIOR OF SHEIKH KHALIFA MEDICAL CITY

27. HOSPITAL MONITOR

28. RAHAF ON HOSPITAL BED

29. VARIOUS OF GENERAL PEDIATRIC CONSULTANT, TAWFIQ HEN, CHECKING ON RAHAF

30. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GENERAL PEDIATRIC CONSULTANT, TAWFIQ HEN, SAYING:

"Rahaf (Ayyad) arrived to us with severe malnutrition due to specific circumstances. She was severely underweight, had muscle atrophy, in addition to vitamins deficiency, complete fatigue, muscle weakness, and very poor health."

31. VARIOS OF HEN CHECKING ON RAHAF

32. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GENERAL PEDIATRIC CONSULTANT, TAWFIQ HEN, SAYING:

"Rahaf (Ayyad)'s treatment requires a combination of interventions from a pediatrician, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, and nutritionists. We are developing a comprehensive treatment plan, introducing nutrition gradually - even the nutritional composition, including the amount of carbohydrates, protein, fats, and vitamins, has a specific way. These will be monitored with daily tests to ensure no mistakes occur."

33. MONITOR

34. RAHAF

35. MOTHER OF RAHAF, SHOROUK AYYAD, STANDING NEAR HER DAUGHTER

36. SHOROUK HOLDING RAHAF'S ARM

37. RAHAF'S LEGS

38. SHOROUK SHOWING HER DAUGHTER'S BACK AND SPINE

39. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOTHER OF 12-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN RAHAF AYYAD, SHOROUK AYYAD, SAYING:

"Before Rahaf fell ill, she was normal, like any other girl - she used to go to school, was among the top students, she used to play with her siblings, go out, her hair was long, and nothing was wrong with her. But because of the displacement and suffering we lived through, after six months of war, her condition began to deteriorate."

40. VARIOUS OF SHOROUK FEEDING HER DAUGHTER

41. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOTHER OF 12-YEAR-OLD PALESTINIAN RAHAF AYYAD, SHOROUK AYYAD, SAYING:

"We were dying there in Gaza - dying of hunger, dying of fear. The situation there is very difficult. We were living in famine - our situation was very tragic."

42. SHOROUK SITTING ON A BED NEAR RAHAF

43. RAHAF ON HOSPITAL BED

44. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GENERAL PEDIATRIC CONSULTANT, TAWFIQ HEN, SAYING:

"The cases from Gaza are very diverse - many of the cases we've seen have chronic illnesses, due to lack of treatment, for example, chronic heart disease that goes untreated and requires surgeries; there are kidney dialysis patients; and many metabolic diseases that require expensive and complex medications. But there's a pattern, you notice chronic malnutrition among these children, and there is psychological trauma."

45. RAHAF ON HOSPITAL BED

46. HOSPITAL WARD DOOR CLOSING