The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet medical evacuee Jaber, 17, who was evacuated from Gaza after his legs were shattered. Photo / Getty Images
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex listened intently as teenage evacuees from Gaza described how their lives had been shattered by war.
Prince Harry and Meghan appeared emotional during their visit to the private Specialty Hospital in Amman, Jordan, which treats Palestinian patients collected from the Israeli border.
It was the last stop on their first day in Jordan, where they are conducting a quasi-royal tour focused on humanitarian aid, mental health and support for those displaced by conflict.
The couple were invited by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), and said they wanted to highlight the country’s role in supporting refugees and medical evacuees from Gaza and Syria.
Among those introduced to the Sussexes was Jaber, 17, who was shot in the legs while collecting food for his family.
His legs are in metal frames, which were supposed to be in place for weeks but have remained for several months, causing complications and necessitating a return to the hospital.
“I’m so glad you’re getting the treatment that you need,” the duchess told him.
The duke and duchess also met Maria, a 14-year-old from Gaza, who was left with severe PTSD after an explosion killed six members of her family, including her parents. Her brother was the only other survivor.
Maria sustained severe burns to her legs, which resulted in the toes on her right foot being amputated and was at hospital to have her dressings replaced under anaesthetic.
The duchess crouched down to talk to the teenager and the duke looked pained when her blanket was removed to show them, with her permission, the dressings and her foot.
Dr Hamzeh Odeh, the hospital’s emergency department manager, said after the visit: “This is what you expect from war, they’re war injuries.
“But some of the injuries are not directly related to the war, it’s because of the lack of doctors, lack of medication.”
He added of the Sussexes’ visit: “It encourages us first of all, and it’s a message for us – they have a very beautiful touch of humanity and it affects us.
“We take it as appreciation from them to come and say ‘thank you’ for our work – it’s like a very good push forward.”
Earlier, the duke and duchess enjoyed a lighter moment when they joined young girls for a football skills session at the Za’atari refugee camp, where tens of thousands of Syrians live after fleeing conflict in their country.
The duchess was left with bragging rights after she scored a penalty but her husband’s shot at goal was saved by a young female footballer.
On arrival at the WHO country office in Amman, the duke and duchess were welcomed with hugs from Dr Ghebreyesus.
They then joined a round-table discussion, involving representatives from United Nations agencies including UNRWA, UNHCR, World Food Programme and Unicef, as well as diplomatic attendees from the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Canada and the EU.
Philip Hall, the British ambassador to Jordan, said: “Your visit, your support, your appreciation of the efforts that the United Nations, including, of course, the World Health Organisation, the government of Jordan and others, are making here is enormously appreciated. So thank you for coming.”
Hall told the assembled group about one of the developments needed to resolve the issues faced by Palestinians.
“A lasting solution of this requires a regional peace,” he said.
“It requires, in particular, peace between Palestine and Israel and the two-state solution – that’s easily said, we all know it’s very hard to achieve, but we’re all working on that too.”
The duke and duchess aim to highlight Jordan’s role in the response to the Israel-Hamas conflict and will visit initiatives they have financially supported that aid medical evacuations for children.
They will also visit the regional headquarters of the World Central Kitchen, which coordinates and deploys food and humanitarian assistance into Gaza, and Questscope at the Za’atari Refugee Camp, home to displaced Syrians.
Last year, the couple visited a meal distribution site run by the charity in the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires.
The visit to Jordan is said to reflect the couple’s “shared commitment” with the WHO to strengthening international co-operation on humanitarian health response, mental health provision and long-term recovery for communities affected by conflict.
Buckingham Palace was informed before the trip as a matter of courtesy, a source said.
However, the humanitarian visit is not being undertaken on behalf of the UK Government, nor does it reflect the couple’s political views, the source stressed.
“They are pro-family, pro-children and pro-peace and decency,” they said. “Their continued humanitarian work has reflected this on a global non-partisan, non-politicised level.
“Their philanthropic organisation funded relief efforts to support children and families after the attack in Israel on October 7 and has also supported relief efforts for family and children in Gaza.”
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