Several injured children from Gaza arrive at San Francisco International Airport for medical treatment at Bay Area hospitals

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — After two years of war, three young kids from Gaza arrived at San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday to a hero’s welcome. And to a large crowd chanting “Let’s go Gaza, let’s go! Let’s go Gaza, let’s go!”

One of them is 14-year-old, Layan.

“She sustained severe burns to her body, second- and third-degree burns, covering her face, her neck. She has shrapnel in her foot that needs to be removed,” explains Cherin Abu-Eid, a volunteer with HEAL Palestine.

An anesthesiologist by trade Abu-Eid worked for the past year to secure medical treatment for Layan at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

“Nutrition is important for burn patients. She is extremely malnourished. Her burns are very, very old. Standard of care would have been to take of these a long time ago,” says Abu-Eid.

HEAL Palestine, which stands for Health Education Aid and Leadership, brings children to the United States for lifesaving medical treatment. It finds host families to take care of the children and any family who accompany them to the U.S. The medical costs are covered by donations.

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Eight-year-old Anas survived a bombing that killed his father. He suffered injuries to his legs. Ghazal is just 6 years old. She was wounded in an explosion. Like Layan, both will undergo treatment at Bay Area hospitals.

“We also want to make sure we get them mental health care. We want to get them education. We want to give them opportunities that build leadership skills,” says Talha Baqar, another volunteer with HEAL Palestine, who works in tech.

Social workers in Gaza identify kids who need urgent care. HEAL Palestine finds U.S. hospitals to provide that care. And then, applies for the medical visas. Baqar says getting kids out of Gaza has been a logistical nightmare.

“The Israeli government has to approve their release. One of the children who is coming today, he has been on a wait list. He has had his medical visa since November of last year. So, he could have been out at any point in time to receive that care,” says Baqar.

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Dr. Mohammed Subeh treated two of the three the three kids on a volunteer medical mission to Gaza. His concern now is how the starvation in Gaza and delays in medical treatment will impact these young kids.

“Anas has half of his tibia, shin bone, shattered. We have to do bone grafting. How his body accepts those bone grafts is really going to be based off that fundamental, nutrition health that you have to have to accept those bone grafts,” says Dr. Subeh.

Dr. Subeh says these three kids are the lucky ones who made it to the U.S. for medical care. But it is still a very tough road ahead. Each will likely spend more than a one year undergoing medical treatment.