Evacuation and treatment of severely burned children from Gaza

The suffering of the people in Gaza is hard to bear, even from afar in the daily news. It becomes unbearable in detail when people are given names and personal stories: when you see that a little Maha or a Mohamad suffers severe burns covering up to 80% of their body because their homes are bombed, but there are no hospitals to treat them because they, too, are being bombed.

Initially, an initiative by various associations and NGOs (including Refugees Foundation e.V., Kinderrelief, Ein Herz für Kinder, etc.), with the involvement of the WHO and the German Federal Foreign Office, was intended to fly a group of approximately 50 injured children and their accompanying adults to Germany for treatment and distribution among numerous German hospitals. The Florian Lex Foundation was prepared to support the stay of the injured and traumatized children in Germany. Unfortunately, the Federal Foreign Office has denied their entry to date due to security concerns.

Now the project has gained momentum: Slovenia has agreed to take in injured children from Gaza. The first medical evacuation took place in mid-November; the first seven young patients were flown via Jordan to Ljubljana and admitted to hospitals there. The children face numerous operations and extensive medical rehabilitation, but the prognosis is good—at least regarding their physical health. Scars will remain, not only physical ones but especially psychological ones.

Two burn patients, victims of the bombing of their homes, are now on the evacuation list for the second flight in early 2026. Little Maha, for example, is the only survivor of her family, is struggling with her burns, and requires treatment.

The Florian Lex Foundation was contacted and is attempting to cover the flight and transport costs for the two patients to Ljubljana. A ticket for the evacuation from Gaza, transport via Jordan in an air ambulance, costs €10,000, but for both of them it is the crucial gateway to treatment for their injuries and a chance to return to life.

Considering the immeasurable suffering in Gaza, is this a drop in the ocean? Probably right. But to abandon the two little ones to their fate for that reason? Certainly wrong.