Resting in her hospital cot, dressed in a vibrant yellow t-shirt adorned with illustrations of lions, leopards, and toucans, young Ivana Skayki epitomizes purity.
Her gentle, pleading gaze meets yours, seemingly questioning her presence there. At just shy of two years old, her comprehension is limited to the agonizing sensations she endures.
Warning: This narrative includes imagery of a child suffering from severe burns.
Almost fifty percent of her petite form is afflicted with burns – extending from the top of her head all the way to her toes.
Her traumatic wounds resulted from an Israeli air raid on her native town of al Aliyah in southern Lebanon on the 23rd of September.
Ivana’s family had just finalized their preparations to evacuate northward when the missile struck.
Fatimah Skayki with her daughter, Ivana, in the hospital
Her mother, Fatimah, was in the kitchen preparing breakfast and managed to avoid significant injury. Meanwhile, her daughters, who were upstairs on the balcony, found themselves quickly enveloped in flames.
“Everything was ablaze, thick black smoke everywhere,” Fatimah reminisces.
“I could only locate my children by their cries.
“It was an incredibly painful day. And I am still trapped in this nightmare.”
One-year-old Ivana Skayki suffered injuries in an Israeli air strike on her hometown in southern Lebanon
Fatimah and her husband, Mohammad, were compelled to leap from a window clutching Ivana and her seven-year-old sister, Rahaf, to escape.
Warning: Graphic images depict severe burns below
They managed to reach the city of Tyre, where the girls received necessary medical attention. However, due to the severity of their wounds, they were subsequently relocated to Beirut’s Geitaoui hospital, which houses Lebanon’s only specialized burns unit.
“To be honest, I had lost all hope that she would pull through,” Fatimah confesses, gazing at Ivana while wiping away a tear.
“She was in an extremely dire condition. She couldn’t move her legs, her mouth, or anything at all.”
Ivana’s mother feared for her survival
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Following weeks of care, which included numerous skin grafts, Ivana’s head and forearms remain wrapped in bandages, while much of the skin on her legs appears red, painful, and flaking.
Yet, she has surpassed the most critical phase and will soon be discharged to join Rahaf.
Nevertheless, for the healthcare workers here, the demands of their roles never cease.
Since Israel intensified its aerial bombardment against Hezbollah six weeks ago, the arrival of burn victims has been unrelenting.
Ivana and her sister were admitted to Lebanon’s only dedicated burns unit
“There has been an immense strain on us,” remarked Hadi Mushref, a nurse in the burns unit, as he spoke to Sky News.
“We’ve exerted ourselves tirelessly, even during our time off, to manage the overcrowded conditions.”
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The hospital has expanded the capacity of its burns unit threefold to address the surge in patients, by establishing additional beds across new levels.
Nonetheless, despite their utmost dedication, they cannot rescue every individual. A man was admitted recently with fourth-degree burns covering 90% of his body.
“We do everything within our power for these patients, but at times, it’s insufficient,” remarked Ali Hamadeh, a fellow nurse.
Israel asserts it does not aim to harm civilians and accuses Hezbollah of using them as human shields by stationing fighters in populated areas.
Israel’s assaults in Lebanon have resulted in the deaths of over 2,500 individuals in the past year, while in Israel, 69 people have perished due to Hezbollah’s projectiles.
Recent Developments in the Middle East
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that it conducted a ground raid into Syria, capturing a Syrian individual they alleged was connected to Iranian networks.
This marks the first instance of Israel declaring its forces have engaged on Syrian soil amid the ongoing conflict.
Syria has not immediately verified this information.
In Khan Younis, Gaza, an Israeli airstrike resulted in at least eight Palestinian fatalities on Sunday, which included four children and one woman, as reported by Gaza’s Hamas-led health department.
Palestinian authorities claimed that an Israeli drone strike on Saturday targeted a clinic in northern Gaza where children were receiving polio vaccinations, injuring six individuals, including four children. The Israeli military denied any involvement.
The conflict erupted on 7 October last year, following an assault by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 individuals, primarily civilians, along with the abduction of approximately 250 others.
Since then, the Israeli military has claimed responsibility for the deaths of over 43,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza. They do not specify how many were combatants, though they assert that more than half of the fatalities were women and children.
