Gazan child amputee dreams big after evacuation to Qatar

By Imad Creidi and Bassam Masoud

DOHA (Reuters) - Evacuated to Qatar from the chaos of Gaza, nine-year-old Palestinian Mahmoud Youssef Ajjour still dreams of becoming a pilot one day despite losing his arms in an Israeli rocket attack.

In a small apartment in Doha, capital of the wealthy Gulf Arab state, Ajjour's mother slowly eases him into his uniform to help him get ready for school. It will take some time to fit him with artificial limbs.

The rocket hit as he was walking away from his Gaza home in December with his father and mother, he said.

"I was lying on the ground, I didn't know what hit me, I didn't know that I lost my arms" said Ajjour.

He was operated on in Gaza with limited anaesthetic, waking up from the operation in great pain and with his arms gone, his mother said.

Yet he is one of the lucky ones, escaping the shattered territory, where many hospitals have been destroyed and doctors say they often have to perform surgery without any anaesthetic and pain killers.

Qatar has taken in some injured Gazans for treatment as it tries to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas along with the United States and Egypt that would see the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and some Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. There is still no sign of agreement.

Ajjour longs for Gaza, which was vibrant before the conflict despite widespread poverty and high unemployment in what was one of the world's most densely populated places.

His home was destroyed in the Israeli offensive triggered by an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas-led militants who killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

The offensive has killed at least 41,118 Palestinians and wounded 95,125, according to the Gaza health ministry. Nearly two million people have been displaced and the territory has become a wasteland. Israel says it does not target civilians, accusing Hamas militants of hiding among them, allegations the militants deny.

"I want Gaza to be beautiful again," Ajjour says.

At the long-established Palestinian School in Doha, he sits patiently while his classmates write things down and raises his voice alongside them as they answer a teacher's questions.

The school psychologist, Hanin Al Salamat, sees in him a source of inspiration. "He gives us strength," she says.

He refuses to let physical limitations define him.

"I will keep trying everything," he says with conviction. "I will become a pilot, and I will play soccer with my friends."

(Writing by Tala Ramadan; Editing by Michael Georgy and Philippa Fletcher)