CNN β A Palestinian toddler who doctors say only has days to live without urgent medical treatment was evacuated from Gaza by the Jordanian military on Monday, in a special mission after Israel had repeatedly delayed her evacuation.
Doctors believe Habiba has protein C deficiency β a rare but highly treatable genetic condition, which causes excessive blood clotting β and warned that the child will likely lose her right leg and possibly arms. Israel then delayed the mission, Jordanian officials told CNN last week. Her heart stopped twice, according to her mother and health workers who resuscitated her.
On Sunday, Israel further delayed clearing the evacuation β postponing the urgent mission and refusing to allow her mother Rana to accompany her daughter. In CNN video from the hospital over the weekend, Rana, 37, sobbed and embraced her daughter at her bedside.
Habiba, sitting up in her bed, stared quietly at the nurses who rushed to pick up her mother. To spare Habiba a long and perilous journey, Jordan had requested an airlift by its military from the Israel-Gaza border, but Israel denied that request, according to a senior Jordanian official, who told CNN Israeli authorities would only approve a land movement. The official told CNN that they finally obtained approval for the whole family to leave Gaza early Monday.
The senior official described the mission to evacuate Habiba as unnecessarily difficult. After a fragile ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas materialized on January 19, Palestinians say they are struggling to reconcile the psychological trauma and physical destruction wrought by more than a year of war.
