Jordan's King Abdullah II offered his condolences Monday to the injured father of a Palestinian child whose killing by Israeli gunfire was broadcast around the world.
"His Majesty visited Jamal al-Durra at the Al-Hussein Medical City where he underwent surgery earlier in the day and offered him his sincerest condolences," a royal palace official said.
"His Majesty also checked about Jamal al-Durra's condition and assured him that whatever he needs will be provided for," the official told AFP.
Durra was flown Sunday night to Jordan and underwent surgery earlier Monday at the state hospital, where doctors removed bullets from his leg and hands, a Palestinian diplomat told AFP, adding that he was in stable condition.
Durra is among 16 Palestinians to receive free medical assistance in Jordan. Fifteen were ferried Monday from the West Bank aboard a military helicopter that had taken medical supplies to the Palestinian territory.
Jamal al-Durra was seriously injured Saturday trying to shield his son Mohamed from bloody clashes in the Gaza Strip between Palestinian police and armed Israeli troops.
Shocking pictures broadcast by France Two television showed father and son huddled together behind a wall to take cover from a gun-battle in Gaza.
Seconds later the child slumped over his father dead while Jamal was seen also to have been hit.
The pictures made the front pages of all the Jordanian dailies.
More than 40 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed and around 1,000 injured in clashes with Israeli troops that were sparked by a controversial visit to Islam's Haram al-Sharif by Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon - AMMAN (AFP)
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