Médecins Sans Frontières - [ENG] Return to Gaza

Unique Identifier Code / URN MSF372379

Date taken / Date Recorded 24/06/2026 1:29 PM

Country Palestinian Territories

Commissioning section MSF-FRANCE

Photographer / videographer / producer Nour Alsaqqa

Copyright Nour Alsaqqa/MSF

Usage Rights (MSF) External Media, Social Media, MSF Fundraising, MSF Publications

Formal Consent Copy available yes

Editor's rating ★★★ (F)

Video format h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661)

Duration 8m39s

Maximum Size 1920px × 1080px 516.09 MB

Additional Information / Shotlist SCRIPT ENG:

00:00:00:19 - 00:00:03:07
People always say,
if a strike is coming at you,

00:00:03:07 - 00:00:04:11
you won't feel it.

00:00:04:11 - 00:00:05:16
And it was true.

00:00:06:02 - 00:00:07:09
Her arm . . .

00:00:07:09 - 00:00:09:20
It was almost severed.

00:00:11:22 - 00:00:13:08
There are strikes,

00:00:13:08 - 00:00:15:20
for them,
this is a ceasefire.

00:00:15:20 - 00:00:17:16
For us, it's not.

00:00:18:16 - 00:00:21:22
I had metal plates in my arm,

00:00:21:22 - 00:00:25:03
inside and out,
and a cast on my leg.

Eman is nine years old.
She is one of thousands of children
who have been injured by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

In August 2025, she was evacuated from Gaza
to receive specialized care at the
MSF reconstructive surgery hospital
in Amman, Jordan.

After completing her treatment in Jordan,
she has now returned to Gaza.

RETURN TO GAZA

00:00:52:12 - 00:00:55:17
My name is Eman, they call me Emmy.
I am nine years old.

00:00:55:21 - 00:00:58:08
I went abroad for treatment
because I was injured.

00:00:59:04 - 00:01:02:07
I am Rana, Eman's mother.

00:01:02:07 - 00:01:03:14
I was accompanying her

00:01:03:14 - 00:01:05:08
during her treatment in Jordan.

00:01:06:01 - 00:01:08:09
The injury happened

00:01:08:09 - 00:01:11:00
during the last ceasefire
in March [2025].

00:01:11:00 - 00:01:16:00
On 23 March,
during Ramadan.

00:01:17:12 - 00:01:18:13
We always slept together.

00:01:19:03 - 00:01:21:02
Why?
Because if something happens,

00:01:21:02 - 00:01:23:02
the whole family goes,
no one is left behind.

00:01:24:09 - 00:01:25:19
I went to wake them up.

00:01:26:09 - 00:01:27:19
Then the strike happened.

00:01:27:19 - 00:01:29:15
We only realized when
we heard the screaming.

00:01:29:15 - 00:01:31:18
The girls were screaming:
'Dad, Dad!’

00:01:31:20 - 00:01:37:00
The other three girls were
buried under concrete pillars.

Eman was one of four sisters injured in the strike.

00:01:50:06 - 00:01:51:12
My name is Abdelhadi.

00:01:51:20 - 00:01:53:13
I am 15 years old.

00:01:54:02 - 00:01:56:07
I love studying medicine,

00:01:56:16 - 00:01:58:04
and I dream of becoming a doctor.

00:01:59:05 - 00:02:02:06
I have many ambitions.

00:02:02:07 - 00:02:04:11
My injury was very painful.

00:02:05:17 - 00:02:12:17
I was near a children’s playground

00:02:13:09 - 00:02:15:23
when a vehicle and the children

00:02:15:23 - 00:02:17:07
in the area were bombed.

00:02:31:03 - 00:02:35:04
Bashir was injured
on 17 October 2023.

00:02:35:07 - 00:02:39:03
He was injured at his uncle's house,
on his way to the supermarket.

00:02:39:03 - 00:02:42:07
They struck the house next door.

Over the past two and a half years,
Israeli forces have systematically
dismantled Gaza's health system by
striking hospitals,
killing medical staff, and blocking supplies needed
to treat the wounded.

00:02:55:06 - 00:02:59:00
When the war ended [ceasefire] ,
I arranged a medical transfer for him.

00:02:59:00 - 00:03:00:14
I couldn't get him out,

00:03:00:14 - 00:03:02:19
not through the Netzarim [Corridor],
not by sea.

00:03:03:03 - 00:03:06:20
I wanted his surgery done
in Gaza.

00:03:06:20 - 00:03:09:08
They told me:
"This cannot be done in Gaza”.

00:03:09:19 - 00:03:12:03
In September 2025,

00:03:12:03 - 00:03:14:12
he was accepted to be
medically evacuated,

00:03:14:12 - 00:03:16:02
five months later.

Approximately 18,500 people,
including 4,000 children,
need medical evacuation from Gaza.
In 2026, only 549 have been evacuated.

The process can take months.
Most requests for medical evacuation are denied
by Israel without explanation.

00:03:29:20 - 00:03:34:20
I was displaced from
Tal al-Zaatar [Refugee camp] to Al-Awda Hospital.

00:03:34:20 - 00:03:37:12
Then I was displaced again to
Yemen Al-Saeed [Hospital]

00:03:37:12 - 00:03:39:24
Then again to Al-Durra Hospital.

00:03:39:24 - 00:03:41:14
There isn't a hospital
that I haven’t been displaced in.

00:03:41:14 - 00:03:42:23
At Helawa School,
I was displaced.

00:03:42:23 - 00:03:44:18
Finally, at Al-Yarmouk [Camp],
I was displaced too.

00:03:44:18 - 00:03:46:23
We were displaced in a way
no one has ever seen.

00:03:46:23 - 00:03:48:05
We ate barley,

00:03:48:05 - 00:03:52:06
corn, animal feed,
and animal fodder, we ate it.

00:03:52:06 - 00:03:53:24
I forgot about my son's injury.

00:03:53:24 - 00:03:54:23
I started only looking for

00:03:54:23 - 00:03:56:01
how to feed my children.

00:04:01:08 - 00:04:04:24
The thing that was nice [in Jordan]

00:04:04:24 - 00:04:07:23
was that there was no rubble,

00:04:07:23 - 00:04:10:00
everything was built up.

00:04:10:01 - 00:04:12:01
But the thing
that wasn't nice was

00:04:12:01 - 00:04:14:09
that my family was here,
and I was there.

00:04:15:09 - 00:04:19:12
My siblings weren't there.

00:04:20:02 - 00:04:22:05
So, I was a bit sad.

00:04:24:18 - 00:04:26:21
The hardest treatment I went through

00:04:26:21 - 00:04:28:10
was the psychological treatment.

00:04:28:10 - 00:04:33:04
My psychological condition was very bad

00:04:33:04 - 00:04:37:24
after the horrific scenes I witnessed.

00:04:39:00 - 00:04:41:19
It was very difficult.

00:04:43:23 - 00:04:48:21
The Israeli army forced us
to walk long distances.

00:04:48:23 - 00:04:50:24
They took our money,

00:04:51:02 - 00:04:53:12
They took everything.

00:04:53:21 - 00:05:00:11
Our belongings,
personal clothes, private items.

00:05:01:24 - 00:05:03:03
When I returned,
I had the impression

00:05:03:03 - 00:05:06:05
there had been
another Nakba of 1948.

00:05:10:07 - 00:05:12:15
I was happy and
not happy at the same time.

00:05:12:15 - 00:05:14:10
Happy to see my family,

00:05:14:10 - 00:05:16:20
but the place where I grew up

00:05:16:20 - 00:05:18:03
was completely destroyed.

00:05:18:03 - 00:05:20:15
Everything was totally destroyed.

00:05:20:15 - 00:05:22:21
The economy, housing . . .

00:05:22:21 - 00:05:24:17
everything became polluted,

00:05:24:17 - 00:05:27:10
and there are rodents
and animals everywhere,

00:05:27:10 - 00:05:30:02
making life harder
for displaced people

00:05:30:02 - 00:05:31:05
and everyone else.

00:05:31:05 - 00:05:34:14
Right now, going to school
is extremely difficult for me.

00:05:34:14 - 00:05:36:18
because of the lack of
movement of my leg.

00:05:36:18 - 00:05:40:21
The pain gets worse
in cold weather.

After months of treatment in Jordan,
Abdelhadi, Bashir and Eman
returned to Gaza.

00:05:49:09 - 00:05:52:04
When we arrived here
back in Gaza,

00:05:52:07 - 00:05:54:22
we were shocked
by what we saw.

00:05:54:24 - 00:05:57:02
Especially the destruction
in Rafah.

00:05:57:02 - 00:05:59:06
It was all levelled to
the ground.

00:05:59:06 - 00:06:01:03
There were tents everywhere.

00:06:01:03 - 00:06:03:24
You feel a lump in the throat
and in the heart.

00:06:03:24 - 00:06:07:05
We are basically in a ceasefire,

00:06:07:05 - 00:06:08:18
but it isn't a ceasefire.

00:06:08:18 - 00:06:09:23
The bombing is still here,

00:06:09:23 - 00:06:11:10
and the fear is still here.

00:06:11:10 - 00:06:14:11
But we try not to pass it on
to our children.

00:06:17:13 - 00:06:19:24
I came back with nothing,
just as I had entered.

00:06:19:24 - 00:06:22:07
I had a nervous breakdown.

00:06:22:07 - 00:06:23:17
I said: "Where am I going to stay?"

00:06:23:17 - 00:06:24:24
I wish, I swear by God,

00:06:25:10 - 00:06:27:12
every moment I wish for death.

00:06:27:12 - 00:06:31:06
When they bury the martyrs,
I envy them.

00:06:31:06 - 00:06:33:09
I wish for death,
me and my children.

Gaza's health system has collapsed,
many families shelter in tents amid rubble.
The needs are immense and almost entirely unmet.

00:06:49:01 - 00:06:50:08
We are in tents, not concrete.

00:06:50:08 - 00:06:51:08
The situation is dire.

00:06:51:08 - 00:06:53:18
For water,
you have to walk 500-600 metres

00:06:53:18 - 00:06:55:01
to get two buckets of water.

00:07:00:22 - 00:07:02:13
In Jordan, you open the tap

00:07:02:24 - 00:07:04:21
and water comes out immediately.

00:07:05:05 - 00:07:08:00
Here, we have no electricity.

00:07:08:03 - 00:07:10:10
Even illnesses have increased.

00:07:10:10 - 00:07:12:15
My immunity has become very weak.

00:07:12:17 - 00:07:17:10
I still have treatment next year.

00:07:17:22 - 00:07:20:06
I still need dental implants,

00:07:20:06 - 00:07:23:00
metal plates,
and full gum reconstruction.

00:07:23:11 - 00:07:27:20
I do not have even
one per cent of hope

00:07:27:20 - 00:07:30:22
that I can continue.

00:07:34:02 - 00:07:39:02
In Jordan, where I was treated,

00:07:39:02 - 00:07:40:24
I wasn't used to this kind of bombing.

00:07:41:01 - 00:07:44:21
But here,
there's the sound of bombing.

00:07:44:24 - 00:07:46:23
There's a ceasefire,

00:07:47:15 - 00:07:50:24
but it's not really a ceasefire,
there's still bombing.

00:07:51:21 - 00:07:56:16
She [Eman], still has further treatment.
We are not done yet.

00:07:56:16 - 00:07:58:06
She still has visible scars,

00:07:58:06 - 00:08:00:01
and cosmetic plastic surgeries ahead.

00:08:02:20 - 00:08:04:23
Bashir still has treatments ahead.

00:08:04:23 - 00:08:07:20
His walking is still slow.

00:08:07:20 - 00:08:10:00
When the treatment is done,

00:08:10:00 - 00:08:12:00
the suffering doesn't end.

00:08:16:17 - 00:08:19:20
I wish Gaza would go back
to how it was before.

MSF calls on the Israeli authorities
to ensure medical evacuations for all Palestinians,
while guaranteeing patients and caregivers a safe,
voluntary, and dignified return to Gaza.