Mohammed Rajab Mqat could not grasp that the crew on the evacuation flight from the Gaza Strip was offering him an entire roast beef sandwich – not one to be split with his four children travelling with him.
When each was given a tray with a sandwich, fruit, orange juice and water, the 37-year-old Palestinian father asked: “Wait, is this for each of us?”
After nearly two years of war in Gaza, Mqat said his weight had dwindled from more than 109kg to 75kg.
“Famine slaughtered us,” he said as they headed last month to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to get medical treatment for his 10-year-old son, who was hurt in an air strike in March.
The medical evacuation flight organised by the UAE provided a route to safety for 155 Palestinians.
Their injuries and hunger were a visceral reminder of the continuing Israeli bombardment and the deepening humanitarian crisis in a war that has killed tens of thousands of pe
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