A group of 15 Palestinians, including eight children and their families, arrived in Abu Dhabi, UAE, by plane for treatment after being evacuated from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, according to the Reuters news agency.

A few of the seats on the plane were removed to make room for the most critically wounded children, who needed to lie on stretchers. Some children had bandaged arms and legs. Some sat quietly next to their parents or relatives, while others travelled alone.

Mohammed Abu Tabikh, 14, was one of the more seriously wounded children on the flight. He suffered injuries to his neck and spine when a car he was travelling in was hit in an attack.

“When I got injured, I felt shock. And then I stopped moving,” he said.

The patients, including some with critical injuries and a cancer patient, were the first to arrive after President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed pledged to treat 1,000 in UAE hospitals. Daily flights are expected to bring more in.