Israeli authorities have granted permission for Mazyouna Damoo, a 12-year-old Palestinian girl who sustained life-threatening injuries from an Israeli missile strike in June, to leave Gaza for medical treatment in the United States.
This approval comes five days after the Guardian reported that multiple requests for her urgent evacuation had been repeatedly denied, according to The Guardian report.
Mazyouna was critically injured when a missile attack by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) devastated her home, resulting in the severe mutilation of her face, including the loss of half her cheek and exposure of her jawbone.
Despite urgent pleas for medical evacuation since June, the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat), the Israeli military body responsible for travel permits from Gaza, had previously refused all five applications without providing explanations.
After a thorough evaluation of her medical condition, Cogat has now authorized Mazyouna’s departure from Gaza, allowing her to travel accompanied by her mother and younger sister. The family, who also suffered casualties in the June attack, departed Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing to Jordan early this morning. They are expected to be flown to the United States as soon as possible for the specialized maxillofacial surgery that is unavailable in Gaza.
Mazyouna's condition remains critical, with ongoing pain from shrapnel lodged in her neck and an infected wound that necessitates immediate surgical intervention. The delay in her evacuation has significantly worsened her prognosis, leaving her father, Ahmed Damoo, isolated in Gaza without any immediate prospects of reuniting with his family.
The situation of Mazyouna highlights a broader humanitarian crisis, as UNICEF estimates that approximately 2,500 children in Gaza urgently require medical treatment that cannot be provided locally due to the extensive destruction of healthcare infrastructure over the past 14 months of conflict. The rate of medical evacuations for children stands at fewer than one per day, leaving many without the necessary care to survive their injuries.
FAJR Scientific, a medical aid organization involved in facilitating Mazyouna’s evacuation, has criticized the delays imposed by Israeli authorities, arguing that such obstacles prevent timely medical interventions that could save lives.
The organization has also highlighted other cases, such as that of four-year-old Elia Younis, who sustained severe burns and amputations in a similar attack and faced delays in evacuation that led to critical complications.