Atlanta, GA
12-year-old girl injured in Gaza bombing receives life-saving surgery in Atlanta
Gaza bombing survivor healing after surgery
Young Palestinian girl has received life changing surgery in Atlanta thanks to a nonprofit. Bombing of the refugee camp in Gaza where she had evacuated to with her family gravely injured her.
ATLANTA – A 12-year-old girl from Gaza, grievously injured in a bombing, is recovering well after receiving life-changing surgery in Atlanta, thanks to a nonprofit.
Her recovery is going so well that she can now even dance again.
Twelve-year-old Habiba Abu Khadeir compares how long her hair used to be before her surgery. She was injured in a bombing at a Gaza Strip refugee camp. She says she really loved her long hair and misses it. (FOX 5)
Gaza bombing injures young girl
Timeline:
According to the nonprofit Heal Palestine, on Jan. 23, 2024, the refugee camp in Khan Younis where 12-year-old Habiba Abu Khadeir was staying with her family was bombed. She lost her mom and her little sister in the attack,” said Dr. Abeer Abouyabis, who translated for Habiba and her aunt Hiyam Abu Khadeir.
Dr. Abouyabis is also hosting Habiba and her aunt while they’re in the U.S. She explained how Habiba was gravely injured in the attack. “She actually had her skull blown out, and her internal organs were exposed,” Dr. Abouyabis explained.
A Gaza hospital was able to stitch Habiba up, but she was in a coma for three weeks. When she woke up, her aunt was able to evacuate her to Egypt.
It wasn’t until Dec. 14, 2024, that Heal Palestine was able to get Habiba to Atlanta for treatment.
On Jan. 7, Habiba was able to get the surgery she needed. She’ll get x-rays in two weeks, where they will determine if she’s ready to travel again.
This image shows 12-year-old Habiba Abu Khadeir right after her surgery in Atlanta. She was injured in a bombing at a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. (Supplied)
Atlanta helps heal little girl
Local perspective:
Because of the extent of the injuries to her skull, Habiba couldn’t get the surgery she needed in the Middle East. “It was a cranioplasty; she had lost all the bone on the right side of her head. They had to build that from titanium and other materials so that they could close the area to protect the brain,” Dr. Abouyabis said.
Through what Hiyam describes as a miracle, she was able to meet someone from Heal Palestine in Egypt, who then arranged for Habiba to come to Atlanta.
On Jan. 7, Habiba got the cranioplasty. Heal Palestine said it can’t disclose the name of the hospital or doctor who treated Habiba due to concerns that some may want to target them. Hiyam says she was very grateful for the way the doctor treated Habiba. “She’s saying that they were very touched by the doctor who did the surgery. Habiba was apparently giving him a little bit of a hard time, but he made her a personal promise that he was going to do the surgery like she was his daughter. They really felt like he treated her like a daughter, not just like a patient,” Dr. Abouyabis said.
The surgery was a success, and although Habiba is disappointed she had to shave her head for the surgery, she’s already feeling well enough to dance and sing.
Twelve-year-old Habiba Abu Khadeir shows a traditional Palestinian dance, something she was not able to do since before she was injured in a bombing in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian girl hopes to rebuild home
What’s next:
If the x-rays show that she is recovering well and cleared for travel, Habiba plans to return to Egypt with her aunt. Habiba’s father and siblings are still in a tent in a Gaza refugee camp. She says her hope is that they can one day rebuild their home and live there together, so they never have to stay in a tent again.
The Source: The nonprofit Heal Palestine provided details and facilitated interviews for this article. FOX 5’s Eric Mock spoke with 12-year-old Habiba Abu Khadeir, her aunt, and Dr. Abeer Abouyabis.
The search for missing 16-year-old Benjamin Braithwaite is over. Atlanta police announced just before midnight Thursday that he had been located, more than a week after he vanished from his Regency Trace home.
The department shared the update on social media but did not release additional details about where he was found or the circumstances surrounding his recovery.
Braithwaite had been missing since the night of April 27, when he was last seen around 9 p.m. at his home in Atlanta. His family said they had no contact with him during the entire time he was gone.
The disappearance of the KIPP Atlanta Collegiate High School sophomore and basketball team member had galvanized the Atlanta community. His family, teammates, Atlanta police officers and neighbors gathered at the school last week to raise awareness about his disappearance. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where his mother works, joined the search effort — asking the public to watch for him at MARTA stops and fast food restaurants.
A $10,000 reward had been offered for credible information leading to his safe return.
“Even small details matter. Your awareness could make the difference,” the airport wrote in an Instagram post earlier this week.
FLOWERY BRANCH – The Atlanta Falcons are gearing up for rookie minicamp this weekend after a flurry of player moves over the last several weeks. General manager Ian Cunningham is not finished making changes to his roster, and the front office has reunited with another former player.
According to a press release from the team, the Falcons have signed cornerback Darren Hall and released safety Tysheem Johnson in a corresponding move.
Hall was originally selected by the franchise in the fourth round (108th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft out of San Diego State. Over his four seasons with the Falcons (2021-22) and Arizona Cardinals (2024-25), he has appeared in 48 games (12 starts), registering 85 total tackles, three tackles for loss, six passes defended, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
In the time between his stints in Atlanta and Arizona, Hall was a member of the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad (2023).
As a college player for the Aztecs, he tied the FBS lead for pass breakups with 16 in 2019. He appeared in 34 games (22 starts) over his three seasons (2018-20) with San Diego State, recording 134 tackles (101 solo), 31 passes defensed, eight tackles for loss, six interceptions, three forced fumbles, 2.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery. He was a first-team All-Mountain West selection following the 2020 season.
As a pro, Hall’s career has not gone exactly as he would have hoped. 10 of Hall’s starts came with the Falcons, and he largely struggled in 2022. He surrendered 362 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 27 receptions against 37 targets. The Falcons waived him in August 2023 in favor of rookie Clark Phillips III, Jeff Okudah, Tre Flowers, and Mike Hughes.
Hall is still a versatile player with solid tackling ability, giving him a shot at being a depth cornerback on this roster or earning a spot on the practice squad. He will face stiff competition to earn that spot, with Phillips, Cobee Bryant, Darnay Holmes, Mike Ford Jr., C.J. Henderson, and Natrone Brooks all standing in his way.
For now, he is the second player from that 2021 draft class (Terry Fontenot’s first as a general manager) to receive some form of a second contract (Kyle Pitts was franchise tagged earlier this offseason) – it just did not happen the way anyone expected. Hall now becomes the third former Falcon to join the roster via free agency this offseason after stints with other franchises (Austin Hooper and Olamide Zaccheaus).
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EMS crews often face waits of an hour — or more — to transfer patients into hospital care.
A medical crew wheels a patient across the parking area into Grady Memorial Hospital after parking across the street because the ambulance bay was full on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Ben Hendren for the AJC)
Some Georgia ambulances are reaching hospitals with a patient on board and then shifting into park.
And waiting.
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A ambulance leaves the parking bay outside the Marcus Trauma and Emergency Center at Grady Memorial Hospital on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Ben Hendren for the AJC)
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Asia Simone Burns is a rapid response reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.
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