Dozens of premature babies were fighting for their lives in the first weeks of the Gaza war, as doctors carried them through the corridors of Al Shifa hospital.
With no electricity, water or oxygen supplies, and with the sounds of war closing in, the decision was made to evacuate 28 babies to Egypt.
More than two years later, 11 of the infants have returned to their families in Gaza, ending a painful chapter of the war.
Sundus Al Kurd embraced her daughter Bisan, who she feared was dead after Israeli troops stormed Al Shifa. “We lived in grief, believing we had lost her,” she told The National.
Bisan was born prematurely and placed in an incubator at the beginning of October 2023, when the war broke out. For months, there was no news.
Then, an unexpected message: Bisan was alive, in Egypt. “I couldn’t believe it,” Ms Al Kurd said. “It felt like the whole world was mine.”
The moment they were reunited was overwhelming. “Holding her in my arms for the first time … I still can’t describe that feeling,” Ms Al Kurd said.
But the reunion came with its own challenges. Bisan, now a toddler, struggles to understand what is happening.
“She knows I am her mother from the video calls,” Ms Al Kurd said. “But she is still confused. She hasn’t fully adapted yet.”
While 11 infants have returned to Gaza, seven died in Egypt, while others are now living outside the Palestinian territory.
Evacuation mission
Back in 2023, doctors were moving quickly between incubators, wrapping the babies in blankets and carrying them from one room to another.
There were 33 premature infants at the hospital at the time. “We did not know if they would survive,” said hospital director Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya.
Israeli troops surrounded the hospital, cutting off essential supplies. The incubators stopped working and the staff had no choice but to improvise.
“We kept moving the babies from place to place to try to keep them warm and alive,” Dr Abu Salmiya said. “There were no basic necessities. We were working under extremely difficult conditions.”
The infants had no caregivers. Many of their families had lost contact with them, or believed they had died. Doctors and nurses deprived themselves of food and clean water, struggling to find milk for the babies.
“It was very cold,” Dr Abu Salmiya said. “We were trying to protect them from the weather as well as everything else.”
Despite their best efforts, five of the children died.
As the situation worsened, the medical team began documenting what was happening. The images drew international attention, and teams from the World Health Organisation arrived at the hospital.
After 10 days under siege, an evacuation effort was arranged. Under the watch of heavily armed soldiers and tanks, 28 premature infants were taken to Egypt for treatment. For many families, it would be the last time they would see their children for years.
Emotional return
Ahmed Al Harash, 31, said the return of his son Mohammed was a moment of joy mixed with grief. His home was bombed in the first days of the war, killing 12 members of his family. His pregnant wife was severely injured and taken to Al Shifa, where she gave birth prematurely to their child. Days later, she died.
“I couldn’t reach the hospital,” Mr Al Harash told The National. “I thought my son had died too.”
Months later, he learnt that Mohammed had been evacuated to Egypt. He watched him grow through video calls, unable to hold him.
When they were finally reunited, the moment he had waited for felt incomplete. “He didn’t recognise me,” Mr Al Harash said.
The long separation had erased familiarity. “I don’t know how I will tell him that his mother is gone,” he added.
Holding his son again reopened a wound that had never healed, Mr Al Harash said. “The days without him were very long. The pain kept growing.”
Dr Abu Salmiya said the infants' return to Gaza represented a rare moment of relief. “We were very happy to see them come back in good health,” he said.
But the memory of those lost remains, he added. “We wish we could have saved all of them.”
