Gaza, February 8, 2026 (WAFA) – Safaa Al-Brim
After nearly a year and a half of closure, the occupation army allowed a partial opening of the Rafah crossing on February 1st, as tens of thousands of stranded people want to return to Gaza, after a forced absence and a long wait on the threshold of the unknown.
However, the joy of the crossing being opened, as the returnees confirm, was not enough to alleviate the harshness of the journey, nor to erase the memories of the humiliation and suffering at the hands of the occupation soldiers.
After the arduous return journey, Sabah Saleh (65 years old) sits in her son’s tent in Mawasi Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, exhausted and carrying the pain of losing her sons and husband who died under the occupation’s bombing of their home in the town of Abasan.
Saleh says: I left Gaza with my son’s wife for treatment in Egypt in April 2024, after the Israeli occupation destroyed our house, and my husband Faisal (65 years old) and three of my sons were killed: Muhammad (40 years old), Omar (38 years old), and Saqr (30 years old).
She recounts in a voice heavy with pain: “I left Gaza with my son’s wife for treatment in Egypt in April 2024, and I did not know that this treatment trip would turn into a long absence. Shortly after I left, the crossing was completely closed following the occupation’s control, so we remained trapped outside Gaza despite the end of my treatment .”
According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has killed approximately 72,000 Palestinians and injured more than 171,000, making her story one of thousands that illustrate the scale of human suffering endured by those stranded and displaced. Between the joy of return and the pain of the past, those returning embark on a new journey, confronting a reality no longer as they knew it, where questions about the missing, the destroyed homes, and the uncertain future remain ever-present.
She says, in a voice that is a mixture of sorrow and longing: I just wanted to return to Gaza, to live with my son Ahmed, the only survivor, my grandchildren, and the rest of my loved ones.
Saleh was very happy when she heard the news that the crossing had been opened. She felt that returning to her loved ones was now possible again, but the road back, as she says, was not easy.
She adds: I was among the second group that entered Gaza on February 3rd. The journey was arduous and long, filled with exhausting hours of waiting, before our suffering began on the Israeli side .
She describes what happened to her, saying: “ We were subjected to a thorough and humiliating search. The occupation soldiers tied our hands, blindfolded us, and left us for long hours in the bitter cold.”
The suffering did not stop there, as she says with a voice filled with sorrow: “The occupation soldiers confiscated the medicines I had to complete my treatment, in addition to simple toys I bought for my grandchildren, and prevented me from bringing them into Gaza. They did not even let me carry the small joy with me.”
According to medical sources in the Gaza Strip, approximately 20,000 patients and wounded individuals are waiting for permission to travel abroad for treatment.
Alongside Saleh, her son Ahmed (35 years old) and his three children sit inside a small tent in Mawasi Khan Yunis, after the occupation destroyed the family’s homes during the war, and dozens of family members were killed or wounded .
Ahmed says: “I was very happy about my mother’s return. Her presence among us compensates for some of the pain, even though we live in a tent after my father and brothers were martyred and our homes were destroyed.”
He adds that his mother’s return brought some warmth back to the broken family, even though the circumstances were harsh .
“I long for the simple details of life that I was forced to lose,” says Umm Saleh, her voice a mixture of longing and regret. “The smells of the house, the voices of my grandchildren running around me, everything small that I considered normal before I lost it.”
She adds: “My decision to return was not easy, but it was decisive; returning and staying here is a form of insistence on staying, and a clear message rejecting all Israeli attempts at displacement that seek to uproot the Palestinian from his land . ”
But she quickly added that the moment of relief was soon shattered by a harsh reality. The city she had left behind was covered in scenes of widespread destruction that she could never have imagined. “My heart ached as I saw Gaza, which I had left full of beautiful homes, transformed into a city of tents, without enough water, without medicine, and without the most basic necessities of life,” Sabah said, her voice filled with sorrow.
According to an official report by Palestinian bodies and statistics from the Central Bureau of Statistics, about 100,000 Palestinians left the Gaza Strip forcibly or involuntarily from the start of the war in October 2023 until the end of 2025, as a result of the destruction and forced displacement caused by the war.
As for Abeer (37 years old), the only daughter of Mrs. Saleh, she could not hold back her tears as she expressed her feelings, saying : “My joy at my mother’s return is great, but the pain is greater… I wish my father and brothers were with us today.”
Sabah is not an exception, but one of hundreds of stories carried by travelers and returnees through the Rafah crossing, where the joy of meeting is mixed with the bitterness of loss, and the hope of returning with memories of inspection, waiting, and deprivation .
It is worth noting that in the initial days following the opening of the Rafah crossing, the Israeli authorities permitted only a very limited number of people to cross. On the first day, only about 12 people were able to enter Egypt, including patients and their companions .
In the following days, movement remained extremely limited compared to the needs of thousands of citizens. For example, on one such day, approximately 25 Palestinians entered Gaza while only 46 left, reflecting the continued restrictions and pressure on the movement of stranded citizens .
Despite the reopening of the crossing, it continued to operate at a very limited capacity and under strict inspection procedures, meaning that movement was far less than the numbers required to meet the needs of patients, students, and families stranded since the closure.
S.K.
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