A cancer center in Jordan treats kids from Gaza, but only a few dozen have arrived

A kid gets disconnected a autobus adjacent nan Jordanian separator pinch different pediatric patients who person been evacuated from Gaza done Israel connected June 11. Salah Malkawi/Getty Images hide caption

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Salah Malkawi/Getty Images

AMMAN, Jordan — The King Hussein Cancer Center is immense and gleaming, pinch alloy beams and floor-to-ceiling windows. Cozy cafes and stocked snack machines dot nan air-conditioned lobby. It's a stark opposition to conditions successful Gaza, from wherever dozens of its latest patients person come.

"We couldn't find nutrient and wherever we went location were airstrikes," says Safa Salha, who spent months going from damaged infirmary to damaged hospital, seeking curen for her 16-year-old boy Youssef.

Youssef, a tall, quiet teen who lets his mother do astir of nan talking, was successful 10th people earlier nan warfare betwixt Israel and Hamas started successful October 2023 and unopen down each nan schools.

Last year, he was operated connected successful Gaza for a encephalon tumor pressing down connected his optic nerve. His mother says nan infirmary was incapable to do MRI scans earlier nan room and couldn't behaviour a biopsy. Surgeons removed arsenic overmuch of nan tumor arsenic they could and sent him location 2 days later because they needed nan bed, his mother says.

"The hardest point was nan determination to do nan surgery," says Salha, a coach and schoolhouse activities organizer. "You don't cognize if nan doctors were going to beryllium capable to decorativeness nan surgery, you don't cognize if there's medicine available, you don't cognize if he was going to dice during nan surgery, aliases if we were going to dice while he was there."

Gaza wellness attraction successful ruins

All of Gaza's hospitals person been either damaged aliases destroyed successful Israeli airstrikes. Israel says it has targeted Hamas sites alternatively than civilian infrastructure.

In January, nan aesculapian assistance group Doctors Without Borders said Israeli attacks had killed 1,000 wellness attraction workers, a fig Gaza's Health Ministry says has now grown to much than 1,400. Due to an Israeli blockade connected nutrient and medicine, hospitals that are partially opening do truthful pinch terrible shortages of medicine, anesthesia and basal supplies.

An interior position of nan destroyed European Hospital aft Israeli service onslaught deed nan infirmary successful Khan Yunis, Gaza connected May 13, 2025. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images hide caption

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Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images

UNICEF says much than 50,000 children successful Gaza person been killed aliases injured during nan war, which began aft nan militant group Hamas launched a cross-border onslaught into Israel. Gaza's Health Ministry says much than 55,000 people, galore of them women and children, person died. Israel says astir 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed successful nan first Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Israel this outpouring intensified its attacks and aid agencies said successful March that much than 12,000 group require urgent aesculapian removal retired of Gaza, including astatine slightest 4,500 children.

In February, President Trump suggested a plan to return complete Gaza, displacing Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt while turning nan enclave into a U.S.-controlled area featuring beach-front property. Many Palestinians successful Gaza were already displaced from their homes aft nan creation of Israel successful 1948.

The relocation scheme is seen by Jordan arsenic an existential threat to nan mini kingdom, a decease knell for hopes of an eventual Palestinian authorities and tantamount to complicity successful taste cleansing of Gaza.

The king pledges to thief 2,000 sick children

King Abdullah told Trump that Jordan was prepared to bring 2,000 kid crab patients and different highly sick children to Jordan for curen arsenic quickly arsenic possible.

But almost 4 months later, only a fewer twelve patients person arrived.

Young patients from Gaza adjacent nan King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge connected May 14, aft being evacuated by nan Jordanian subject for aesculapian curen successful Jordan. Jordan's King Abdullah promised President Trump successful February to bring successful 2,000 children from Gaza for life-saving treatment. Salah Malkawi/Getty Images hide caption

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Salah Malkawi/Getty Images

"There person been difficulties imposed by nan Israeli authorities that are stopping nan measurement of making this hap smoothly," said Mohammad al-Momani, Jordan's authorities connection minister.

Jordanian officials opportunity Israel, which controls nan Gaza border, has obstructed exit visas needed for aesculapian evacuations for immoderate patients and guardians needed to recreation pinch them. It's a long-standing issue: Physicians for Human Rights successful Israel has taken nan Israeli authorities to court to effort to unit them to let much patients out.

The Israeli subject did not respond to NPR queries astir obstructing exit visas. The United Nations' World Health Organization, which useful pinch Israeli authorities and oversees logistics for aesculapian evacuations, deferred remark to Israel.

Deadly delays

Health officials opportunity delays successful evacuations person meant diminished chances of endurance for immoderate of nan sickest children, who elsewhere would person contiguous treatment.

"What we are seeing is really peculiar to Gaza patients — they are much precocious diseases," says nan King Hussein Cancer Center main of pediatrics Rawad Rihani. "Cases wherever nan tumor is very precocious pinch nan deficiency of due curen and due evaluation, aliases due diagnosis, which makes them very difficult to treat."

Pediatric patients evacuated from Gaza get for curen astatine King Hussein Medical City successful Amman connected June 11. Salah Malkawi/Getty Images hide caption

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Salah Malkawi/Getty Images

Rihani says immoderate of nan tumors person grown truthful ample they person damaged nan children's organs, leaving them successful excruciating pain. With Israel's strict controls connected nutrient and medicine entering Gaza, galore of nan patients are malnourished.

"These patients require intensive attraction portion support, they require respiratory support and they require a batch of nutritional support arsenic well," she says. "It makes nan tumor very difficult to treat."

Even though astir puerility cancers are treatable, Rihani says, not each of nan children evacuated to Jordan survive.

"Some of them are very precocious and went to palliative care," Rihani says. "Unfortunately we are not capable to prevention everyone."

Jordan besides operates 2 section hospitals successful Gaza and was nan awesome corridor for assistance going to nan territory by motortruck and aerial earlier Israel blocked assistance shipments successful March.

The Royal Jordanian Air Force's 8th Squadron unloads humanitarian assistance astatine a helipad connected nan outskirts of Gaza, connected Feb. 9. Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR hide caption

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Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR

The King Hussein Cancer Center is 1 of nan region's starring crab hospitals. Rihani says it has 44 pediatric crab beds and 24 beds for pediatric bony marrow transplants, which tin beryllium supplemented by different hospitals that besides dainty cancer. Some of nan arrivals require only out-patient treatment.

Rihani says nary crab patients treated successful Jordan since nan commencement of nan Gaza warfare person been sent backmost to Gaza. Jordan has been criticized though for sending group backmost during nan continuing conflict it says person afloat completed curen for different illnesses.

"We are bringing them by batches," says Momani, nan communications minister. "We will return these children to dainty them but past aft they decorativeness their curen they should beryllium going backmost to their homeland. We don't want to beryllium successful immoderate measurement helping nan displacement of Palestinians."

Hunger stalking Gaza

With truthful galore obstacles, patients and their families who person been evacuated to Jordan and different countries are among nan very fortunate few.

Zainab al-Astal arrived successful Jordan pinch her sons Qassim, 15, and Ahmed, 13, successful mid-May. Both nan boys person lymphoma.

Displaced many times by Israeli airstrikes, location was hardly immoderate food, not moreover bread. Here, Astal says Ahmed has been dazzled by nan abundance of shawarma — a sandwich of sliced chickenhearted roasted connected a spit.

"He says he wants to beryllium successful nan edifice each time and conscionable support eating," she says.

The time they were evacuated from Gaza, nan Astals had gathered pinch different patients and guardians adjacent a autobus astatine nan Gaza European Hospital to thrust to nan separator when Israel bombed nan complex, according to patients and nan World Health Organization. Gaza civilian defense authorities opportunity astatine slightest 28 people, including patients, were killed successful nan airstrikes.

Israel said it was targeting a Hamas bid and power halfway nether nan hospital. Israel released footage showing what it said were tunnels nether nan infirmary analyzable to bolster its claim, but nan heavy edited video could not beryllium independently confirmed.

Patients are being evacuated from nan European Hospital successful Khan Younis to beryllium transferred to Nasser Hospital, 2 of nan fewer wellness centers operating successful nan Gaza Strip, connected July 2, 2024. Abed Rahim Khatib/picture confederation via Getty Images hide caption

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Abed Rahim Khatib/picture confederation via Getty Images

"I knew it was going to onshore adjacent america but I couldn't move," says Astal. She says nan effect threw nan boys successful nan aerial and rained down truthful overmuch debris she couldn't spot for 10 minutes.

Strangers threw themselves connected nan crushed complete nan boys to protect them, she says.

The teenagers themselves speak very matter-of-factly astir nan bombings.

Leen al-Dabbas, a objective scientist astatine nan crab center, says galore of nan children are suffering from "masked depression" — not yet capable to process what they've been through.

"When they first get they are successful an accommodation period," she says.

For galore families nan fearfulness for their ain lives has been replaced by relentless interest complete loved ones they near down successful Gaza.

One girl, Suhair Zouroub, 13, sits pinch her mother Shayma' and younger brother, a bluish infirmary bracelet connected her bladed wrist, up of her first rounds of chemotherapy.

She was diagnosed 2 months agone pinch leukemia. When she suffered seizures successful Gaza, location was nary curen available. She describes huddling together pinch each of nan family, hugging each different during nan airstrikes. Her 2-1/2-year-old brother, Jude, pipes up pinch nan connection tiyara, Arabic for "plane."

The eighth-grader had a 98% people constituent mean and says she wants to beryllium an world lawyer.

"It's very bully here," she says successful a quiet voice. "But Gaza is much beautiful. Nothing tin ever beryllium for illustration home."