Archive · 2 Oct 2026
Premature Gaza Baby Reunites With Mother After Evacuation
Bissan is a little girl from Gaza who was born early after an airstrike injured her mother.
She was moved to Egypt in an incubator so doctors could care for her.
She lived there for a long time without her mother.
In March this year, she returned to Gaza with some other children.
At first, Bissan did not know that Sundus was her mother.
She had learned to call many kind women “mama.”
Loud explosions frightened her because of the war.
Slowly, Bissan and Sundus have begun spending time together and building their family bond.
Another child, Ibrahim, returned to his father after his mother died before they could reunite.
Bissan was born six weeks early after an Israeli airstrike injured her pregnant mother in Beit Lahiya in October 2023.
She was evacuated to Egypt in an incubator with 28 other premature babies as Israeli forces approached the neonatal hospital.
Seven of the evacuated babies died in Egypt, while Bissan survived and returned to Gaza in March this year.
After more than two years apart, Bissan initially did not recognize her mother, Sundus al-Kurd.
The children and their families are rebuilding relationships while coping with continuing explosions and wartime trauma.
- Who
- Bissan, her mother Sundus al-Kurd, and other premature children evacuated from Gaza; the report also describes Ibrahim and his father Jabri Badr.
- What
- Premature babies evacuated to Egypt during the Gaza war are being reunited with surviving family members and adjusting to life in Gaza.
- When
- Bissan was born in October 2023, evacuated in November 2023, and returned to Gaza in March this year.
- Where
- Bissan’s family home was in Beit Lahiya, she received care in Egypt, and she was reunited with her family in Gaza.
- Why
- She was delivered early after an airstrike seriously injured her pregnant mother, and she was evacuated because Israeli forces were approaching the neonatal hospital.
- Bissan’s birth
- She was born six weeks prematurely after an airstrike injured her mother.
- Initial evacuation
- Bissan was driven to Egypt in an ambulance while still in an incubator.
- Children evacuated
- She was among 29 premature babies evacuated from a neonatal hospital ward.
- Deaths in Egypt
- Seven of the evacuated babies died in Egypt.
- Return to Gaza
- Bissan returned in March this year with 10 other children from the same group.
- Family reunion
- She initially did not recognize her mother after more than two years apart.
- Ongoing effects
- Explosions continue to frighten Bissan, who seeks her mother when awakened by them.