Two days after her birth, a Palestinian infant was found on a tree near her family's destroyed home in Gaza, having fallen among the branches after an airstrike that killed her family members last November. Fortunately, the baby was cared for by a young nurse who oversaw her care. The child reached the hospital, and according to her umbilical cord, the head of the neonatal unit at Al-Shifa Hospital, Nasser Bulbul, stated that she was only two days old at that time. He added that he and his colleagues believed a "guardian angel" was behind her survival, which inspired them to name her "Malak," according to the American network NBC.
Malak arrived at the Emirates Hospital in Rafah, south of Gaza, at a few days old. Since there were no family members with her and it was assumed that all her family had died, the paramedics wrote that she was "unknown." After six months in the hospital, the infant found a family when nurse Amal Abu Khatla, 32, took care of her in the ward. Abu Khatla stated, "We faced many catastrophic stories because of the war, but the story that affected me the most was that of Malak." She added that other children were accompanied by family members, but Malak "was not and remained unidentified."
Abu Khatla's bond with the child strengthened while she treated her in the hospital, where Malak remained alone without a family or name. The nurse expressed, "I was really affected and became very close to her," adding that she submitted a request to the Ministry of Health, which allowed her to take the child to her home, promising she would compensate her for what she had endured.
