The Duchess of Sussex looked emotional as she met a young man with shattered legs who was evacuated from Gaza to receive urgent care in Jordan.
Meghan told Jaber, 17, whose legs were held in place by a metal frame: “I’m so glad you’re getting the treatment that you need”, as he was assessed at the private Specialty Hospital in Amman.
The Sussexes are making a two-day visit to Jordan to learn more about the humanitarian effort to support the health and wellbeing of Syrians and Palestinians who have sought sanctuary in Jordan over the decades.
Dr Hamzeh Odeh, the emergency department manager at Specialty Hospital, 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.”
During their first day in Jordan Harry and Meghan enjoyed a lighter moment, joining young girls for a football skills session at the Za’atari refugee camp where tens of thousands of Syrians fled to escape conflict in their country, until recently ruled by President Bashar al-Assad.
Meghan was left with bragging rights after she scored a penalty but her husband’s shot at goal was saved by a young female footballer.
Children and young people needing medical treatment following the recent war in Gaza, launched by Israeli forces to destroy Hamas after the militant group committed the October 7 atrocities against Israeli civilians, are being evacuated under the “Jordanian Medical Corridor” initiative announced last year by Jordan’s King Abdullah.
Jaber was on his way to collect humanitarian food for his family when he was shot in his legs. Hundreds of Palestinians were wounded or killed when trying to access supplies provided by the now disbanded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The metal rods were supposed to be in place for weeks but have remained for many months causing complications and necessitating the hospital visit.
Harry and Meghan also met 14-year-old Maria, from Gaza, who was left traumatised and suffering with PTSD after an explosion killed six members of her family, including her parents, with only a brother surviving.
She was left with severe burns to her legs which resulted in the toes on her right foot being amputated and was at hospital on Wednesday to have her dressings replaced under anaesthetic.
Meghan crouched down to talk to the teenager and Harry looked pained when her blanket was removed to show them, with her permission, the dressings and her foot.
Dr Odeh said ambulances from his hospital were evacuating Gazan patients periodically, collecting them from the Israeli border.
He said about 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 its 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.”
Harry and Meghan began their day by hearing first-hand accounts from senior executives about the issues facing the Jordanian authorities, World Health Organisation (WHO) and UN agencies such as the UNHCR and Unicef in supporting Palestinian and Syrian refugees.
Jordan has received wave after wave of refugees beginning with Palestinians more than 80 years ago, who now number around 2.5 million, and Syrians who first began arriving in the Za’atari Refugee Camp in 2012.
The couple’s visit had the feel of an official royal tour despite the Sussexes stepping down as working members of the monarchy and moving to America with their family in 2020 for personal and financial freedom.
There were three changes of clothes for Meghan and Harry as they traded a smart casual look, worn for the roundtable discussion at the WHO’s offices, for more easy-going outfits for the visit to the refugee camp and they dressed more formally for the hospital tour.
Body language revealed a couple very much in tune, as they simultaneously made the same gesture of holding a hand to their chest, rubbed each others backs often and held hands after be warmly welcomed by the WHO’s director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, who invited them to the country.
Harry and Meghan toured a youth centre at the Za’atari Refugee Camp run by the social development organisation Questscope, and joined classes on art, photography and music, used to engage youngsters and help alleviate mental health issues, before playing football.
When they joined a group of youngsters at the outdoor football class a little girl came up to the duchess who crouched down to speak to her through an interpreter asking her age and was told she was seven years old.
A member of Questscope staff said to the little girl “You know Meghan?” but she promptly walked off and the duchess said with a smile: “So sweet, so confident – that’s what you’re instilling.”
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