Mother’s tearful Gaza return after 2 years apart from husband

Eatedal Rayyan, 29, sits and looks out from a window of a tent set up inside her war-damaged home.

After nearly two years of separation, Eatedal Rayyan crossed back into Gaza and fell into her husband’s arms. The 29-year-old mother had fled for medical treatment and safety, and now returned to a land she knew was shattered. She came back knowing she would live in a tent, but said the pull of family and home was stronger than fear.

Rayyan, her mother, and her three children were among a small group allowed back after Israel reopened the Rafah border crossing. The crossing had been largely shut since fighting began in October 2023. Their return marked a rare reversal of the mass exodus from Gaza.

She had left in March 2024 after a leg injury that doctors warned could require amputation if untreated. She joined tens of thousands who fled to Egypt in the early months of the conflict. Months of treatment in Egypt helped her walk again, setting the stage for the long-awaited journey home.

“I long to return to my homeland, despite everything that happened,” Rayyan told Reuters before crossing. She said she expected to live in a tent, but still wanted to go back. Reuters followed her from Al-Arish, the Egyptian town where thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge.

Her children buzzed with excitement as they packed blankets and winter coats. Hanan, 8, Ezz, 5, and Mohammad, 4, chanted, “We are going to Gaza!” Hanan even put a bow in her hair for the reunion.

The trip was long and tense. Rayyan left around midday for the Rafah crossing, about 50 kilometers from Al-Arish. She had to clear three checkpoints: Egyptian, Palestinian and European, and then Israeli security.

From Rafah, a bus carried them to Khan Younis. Rafah, once home to about a quarter of a million people, was demolished and depopulated by Israeli forces during the war with Hamas. It was nearly midnight when the family finally arrived.

Her husband Ahmed was waiting. The couple held each other in a long embrace. Ahmed hugged and kissed the children, while Hanan clung to his leg.

What Rayyan saw stunned her. “No building is standing,” she said. “Everything is destroyed. There is no electricity, or anything.” The scale of destruction, she said, was shocking even though she knew what to expect.

Their former large house in Al-Saftawi near Gaza City was destroyed in the war, Ahmed said. The family will now live in a tent in a Gaza City encampment. Ahmed said he managed to get three mattresses for five people to sleep on.

The Rafah crossing is Gaza’s main gateway for nearly all of its more than 2 million residents. Its limited reopening on Monday was part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Israel-Hamas war. About 50 people were expected to cross each way daily, but actual numbers have been far lower.

On Thursday, only 21 Palestinians re-entered Gaza, including Rayyan and her children, according to enclave authorities. Some returnees said they were harassed and interrogated by Israeli forces and by members of a local gang backed by Israel. Israel’s military denies this.

Rayyan said young men traveling with her were tied, blindfolded, and interrogated. She said many people asked why she would leave Egypt for Gaza, where food and water are scarce and most of the population is displaced. Despite that, she said the pull of home was overwhelming.

“It is true that life in Egypt was good,” she said. “But still, you long for your country, your family, your relatives, your husband, your life.” She added: “Life in Gaza is still beautiful, even though it’s been destroyed.”

Key Takeaways

• A Gaza mother reunited with her husband after nearly two years apart.

• The family returned through Rafah to a landscape of destruction and tents.

• Only 21 people crossed back that day despite plans for far more.

For Palestinians returning to Gaza, a bittersweet reunion