TRT World Exclusive: Gaza amputee in US reflects on war that took her limb

Washington DC — In a harrowing tale from besieged Gaza, 10-year-old Baylasan Usrof emerged as one of the few survivors of an Israeli air strike that razed her family’s home in Khan Younis. The attack, part of Israel's brutal campaign against the besieged enclave, occurred in November 2023.

While Usrof lived through the carnage, she was left with a heart-wrenching loss: her left leg. Her story highlights the relentless suffering of countless Palestinian children caught in the crossfire of this devastating conflict.

In this exclusive interview, Usrof, who arrived in the US this week to receive her treatment, described to TRT World the horrors caused by Israel that she and her family went through during the early stages of the genocide.

"I was at home, sleeping. Suddenly, two missiles dropped on us. I woke up, my mom was screaming. She was (on the floor) above. They got her out first and then another girl (on the floor) below. They took them to the hospital, and then they got back to me," Usrof told TRT World.

"I kept calling for help, and they got me out and took me to the hospital. After that, I don't know what happened," the 10-year-old survivor added.

After the Israeli strike bombarded her family's home, her initial feeling was that "there is no safety."

"The fear was overwhelming," Usrof recounted, reflecting on the relentless assault that shattered her family's life.

The missile strike left deep physical and emotional scars.

Her mother suffered severe leg wounds; her brother’s face and hair were scorched; her sister was struck in the back and eyes, rendering her unable to open them. Usrof's father, too, bore the brunt, with grievous leg wounds that left him unable to stand.

'So much pain, I couldn't bear it'

After surviving the Israeli onslaught, Usrof and her mother, sister, and brother —names withheld for safety — fled to Egypt in a desperate bid for refuge.

Her father and other brother stayed in Gaza.

"Only my father and my brother" stayed in Gaza, Usrof said. "My mom, sister and brother, whose face was burned, are in Egypt."

In Cairo, the physical agony the girl endured was only matched by the deep emotional torment she faced. Each step she took in the Egyptian capital was a painful reminder of the family and home she lost, leaving her to grapple with the haunting shadows of her past as she sought solace in a new land.

"There was so much pain in my leg that I couldn't bear it," Usrof said, referring to her condition.

"My mom was in front of me, helpless to the point she cried because she didn't know what to do."

Usrof recalled how a video her mother watched sparked a glimmer of hope. The footage discussed the possibility of Palestinian children, wounded by Israel's brutal aggression, coming to the US for treatment. This video became a beacon of hope, lighting the way for her journey toward healing.

"My mom saw a video about children who could come to the US for treatment," Usrof explained. "She commented on it, hoping that I might be one of those children who could get the help I needed."

Usrof's journey to the US

HEAL Palestine is a nonprofit humanitarian organisation that helped bring Usrof to the US to receive a prosthetic limb.

For days before Usrof's arrival, the organisation kept the public updated on the social media platform Instagram, calling on everyone to come and welcome the survivor.

Thousands of people have been patiently anticipating her landing in the US. Upon her arrival on August 31 at Dulles International Airport, Usrof received a hero's welcome from hundreds of people who came to offer their support for the 10-year-old survivor.

People cheered her name, showered her with gifts, and held up placards reading "Welcome, Baylasan" and "We Love You, Baylasan." The air was filled with the waving of Palestinian flags, creating a sea of solidarity and support.

Two days after her arrival, the organisation uploaded another post to inform the public that Usrof had her first appointment with a prosthetist to begin her journey of getting a new limb.

'Tens of thousands still need help'

Laura Faeder, a volunteer with HEAL Palestine who travelled to Egypt to accompany Usrof on her journey to the US due to the severity of her mother's wounds, told TRT World that she had been involved in different ways of helping Palestinians since October 7.

"As a taxpaying American, I feel it's my duty to help Palestinians in Gaza and abroad," Faeder told TRT World.

Faeder said she met Usrof's mother in Cairo to offer her assurances while doing everything possible to help heal her mentally.

"All she wants to do is to walk again," she said.

Faeder said they helped evacuate 21 Palestinian children to receive treatment so far, including Usrof, adding that most of them are amputees.

"Most of them are amputees, maybe single amputee, double amputee, and even triple or quadruple amputees," Faeder said, adding that most of the Palestinians travel with a guardian, but in Usrof's case, whose mother was severely wounded by Israel, they offer host families who take care of them during their treatment journey.

"The fact that we have gotten 21 children out is amazing, but there are tens of thousands that need urgent help and treatment," she stressed.

"Seeing these children heal and smile is what they deserve. They deserve a childhood."

Faeder, criticising the US for its complicity in Israel's devastating actions in Gaza, voiced her opposition to the Biden administration's stance on Tel Aviv's genocidal campaign. She vowed to continue her support for Palestinian children in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank, regardless of political setbacks.

"We've been witnessing a genocide being live-streamed for almost an entire year, and so, I will continue supporting Palestinians in Gaza and the (occupied) West Bank until this stops and beyond," she said.

"We are funding this genocide, and I think every person must stand up and use their voice, power, and privilege to make it stop. This is the worst humanitarian catastrophe we have witnessed in modern times… it's our job as humans to stand up and say no and help them as much as we can," she noted, calling for a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza to help the children.

Meanwhile, when asked by TRT World about how she feels to have arrived in the US to receive treatment, Usrof said she was both "happy and sad at the same time."

"I'm sad because I’m so far from my family, and none of them are here with me," Usrof said.

"But I’m also hopeful because I'll receive a prosthetic limb and the treatment I need."