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A six-year-old girl who was paralysed from the neck down in an Israeli missile strike enjoyed what she called the happiest day of her life as she was allowed out of her hospital ward for the first time to go to school last week.

Dressed in a green T-shirt and smart black slacks, Marya Aman was applauded by her fellow pupils when she joined her class at the Yad b'Yad (Hand in Hand) school in the Katamon suburb of Jerusalem.

Her time at school might prove short-lived, however. A court is due to consider on Tuesday whether she can remain in Israel or must be sent back to the Palestinian territories.

Marya, who knows nothing about the court case, simply revelled in meeting her classmates, a mixture of Arabs and Jews, and the excitement of her lessons.

Her injuries mean that she needs constant medical care. She was wheeled into the classroom attached to a ventilator, and was looked after by her 29-year-old father, Hamdi Aman.

“I was so happy,” she said at the end of the first day. “All the other children welcomed me at the entrance, singing for me and throwing flowers.”

Since The Sunday Times first reported on Marya last February, readers have donated £34,000. Some of this will pay for a special chair that will enable her to sit with her classmates if she is permitted to stay.

Paralysed in May last year when a missile struck her family’s car in Gaza, she has been forbidden by the Israeli authorities to remain in the country indefinitely, even though it is said to be the only place in the Middle East with the equipment needed to keep her alive.

She lost her mother, older brother and grandmother in the attack by an Israeli jet in Gaza, which was aimed at another car carrying Palestinian militants. Her father, younger brother and uncle were all injured.

Marya’s spine was fractured and both lungs were punctured. She is confined to a motorised wheelchair which she operates with a mouth stick.

“Marya was always bright but her brain power since the injury has doubled,” said her father. “Allah took her body but in return gave her plenty of brains.”

Despite her terrible injuries, she is a cheerful girl. “My teacher is very nice,” she said. “I like the other children in my class very much.” Not only is she polite, but she has a good command of Hebrew, which she has picked up in hospital.

Going to school is not straightforward, her father explained. “The life-support machine is sometimes unreliable and when it stops working I need to operate it at once manually, otherwise Marya will suffocate.”

The Israeli defence ministry has agreed to pay for Marya to attend school for up to a month. Her lawyer, Adi Lustigman, is trying to make the government take financial responsibility for her in the long term.

He is asking for permanent residence in Israel for her and her father, and lifelong support to cover treatment which is estimated to cost £10,000 a month. Israeli officials have suggested moving her to a hospital in the West Bank.

“Any decision other than allowing her to live in Israel with the full support of the Israeli government would be a death sentence for Marya,” her father said.

Any readers wishing to help should send a cheque made out to Marya Aman to: Foreign Desk, The Sunday Times, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST. We will ensure that the money reaches her bank account safely.

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