Two and a half years ago Sundus al-Kurd was eight-month’s pregnant when she was seriously injured in an Israel attack on civilians in Gaza on October 22, 2023. Doctors performed an emergency caesar while she was in intensive care to ensure her baby, Bisan, survived.
As Israeli forces besieged the hospital, her baby was evacuated to Egypt for ongoing treatment.
On Monday this week Bisan and ten other premature babies evacuated from Gaza in 2023 during Israeli attacks returned to the enclave through the Rafah border.
They had been evacuated in the early months of the war after neonatal units at Al-Shifa Hospital were targetted by Zionist forces. The facility was forced to shut down, and medical supplies became severely limited.
Their return followed the limited reopening of the Rafah crossing, enabling their transfer back to Gaza after completing treatment abroad.
Palestinian estimates indicate that about 22 000 wounded and sick people in Gaza need to leave the territory for treatment amid the collapse of the health system.
Before the Israeli genocide, hundreds of Palestinians crossed daily between Gaza and Egypt through Rafah under arrangements managed by Gaza’s Interior Ministry and Egyptian authorities, without Israeli involvement.
Israel was expected to reopen the crossing during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10, 2025, but did not follow through.
Israel launched a war on Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 72 000 Palestinians, wounding around 172 000 others, and devastating about 90% of civilian infrastructure. – AA