Selah Hajras, a young Palestinian girl brought to Malta for urgent medical treatment, was in the stranger’s gallery in parliament on Wednesday. 

It was the young child's second public event involving politicians in as many days. 

Selah, 3, was injured in an Israeli air strike and arrived in Malta on Tuesday to receive medical treatment at the invitation of Malta's government. She was carried into the arrivals hall by Palestine's ambassador to Malta, having met with Prime Minister Robert Abela and his wife Lydia shortly after landing. 

At the beginning of Wednesday’s plenary sitting, Speaker Anġlu Farrugia started the session with the usual prayer and said Selah, her father Ashraf and the Palestinian ambassador to Malta, Fadi Hanania were present.

He said that he dedicated the prayer to Selah and the children of Palestine and prayed for an end to the war. 

Bernard Grech carries Selah.

Opposition leader Bernard Grech also met with Selah during parliament's Wednesday session and gave her a gift and card, a PN spokesperson said. 

Selah suffered severe leg injuries when her house in Southern Gaza was hit by an Israeli airstrike in November. She lost her mother and brother in the attack. 

Her father, Ashraf, was not injured and initially believed Selah had also been killed in the bombing. It was only when doctors posted a video to YouTube showing Selah at hospital that her father realised she was alive.

Palestine is currently forbidding men under 60 from leaving the country, meaning Ashraf and his daughter had to be smuggled into Egypt. 

Malta offered to cover the costs of her medical treatment at Mater Dei Hospital, with Saint James Hospital, a private medical facility, making a similar offer. 

The two landed in Malta from Egypt on Tuesday afternoon. Their flight was funded by public donations and the Palestinian Embassy in Malta, with support from the Maltese government. 

Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said that seeing Selah present in Parliament is a stark realisation of the true ugliness of war. 

"We should be proud that as a country we provide aid and help when we can, instead of dropping bombs," he said.

He explained how the ministry coordinated with other entities to bring Selah and her father safely to Malta. He said the ministry dealt with providing the necessary visas and documents to allow the family in Malta, and the Health Ministry offered to cover all the necessary medical treatment.