![\"Nebal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/873A5938-1769968070.jpg\")
Nebal with her two-year-old daughter, Rita [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\nGaza City \u2013 With what remains of her wounded forearms, Nebal al-Hessi scrolls on her phone to follow news updates on the reopening of the Rafah land crossing from her family\u2019s tent in an-Nazla, Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
Nebal\u2019s hands were amputated in an Israeli artillery attack on the home where she had taken shelter with her husband and her daughter in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, on October 7, 2024.<\/p>\n
Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n
More than a year later, the 25-year-old mother is one of thousands of wounded people placing their hopes on the reopening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt as they seek access to adequate medical treatment outside the besieged Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a year and five months since I got injured \u2026 Every day, I think about tomorrow, that I might travel, but I don\u2019t know,\u201d Nebal tells Al Jazeera in a quiet voice.<\/p>\n
Recalling the attack, Nebal says she was sitting on her bed holding her baby daughter Rita, trying to communicate with her family in northern Gaza, when the shell hit suddenly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to catch an internet signal to call my family \u2026 my daughter was in my lap\u2026 suddenly the shell hit. Then there was dust; I don\u2019t remember anything else,\u201d Nebal says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the shell fragments that amputated my hands,\u201d she recounts.<\/p>\n
\u2018Life is completely paralysed\u2019<\/p>\n
Nebal was taken to the hospital with severe injuries, including complete amputation of both upper limbs up to the elbows, internal bleeding, and a leg injury. She underwent two abdominal surgeries.<\/p>\n
She spent about 40 days in the hospital before beginning a new stage of suffering in displacement tents, without the most basic long-term care.<\/p>\n
Today, Nebal, an English translation graduate and mother to two-year-old Rita, relies almost entirely on her family for the simplest daily tasks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t eat or drink on my own \u2026 even getting dressed, my mother, sister, and sister-in-law mainly help me,\u201d she says sorrowfully.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven going to the bathroom requires help. I need things in front of me because I cannot bring them myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nebal talks about the pain of motherhood left suspended, as her daughter grows up before her eyes without her being able to hold her or care for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy little daughter wants me to change her, feed her, give her milk, hold her in my arms like other mothers\u2026 she asks me, and I can\u2019t,\u201d Nebal says with sorrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy life is completely paralysed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doctors tell Nebal that she urgently needs to travel to continue treatment and have prosthetic limbs fitted, emphasising that she needs advanced prosthetics to regain a degree of independence, not just cosmetic appearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoctors tell me that I need a state or an institution to adopt my case so I can gradually return to living my normal life,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
Nebal with her two-year-old daughter, Rita [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n
With Palestinian authorities announcing arrangements to open the Rafah crossing today for batches of wounded people and medical patients, Nebal, like many others, lives in a state of anticipation mixed with fear.<\/p>\n
According to Gaza\u2019s Ministry of Health, thousands of wounded still require specialised treatment unavailable inside the Strip, while the scheduling of names depends on medical lists and complex approvals, amid the absence of a clear timetable or publicly announced priority criteria.<\/p>\n
Nebal says she received repeated calls over the past months from medical organisations informing her that she would be among the first on the travel lists.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey contacted me more than once, told me to prepare\u2026 they gave me hope,\u201d she adds. \u201cBut this time, no one has contacted me yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, Nebal fears her case might be overlooked again, or that the crossing\u2019s opening could be merely a formality, disregarding the urgent needs of patients like her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI die a little every day because of my current situation \u2026 not figuratively. I\u2019ve been like this for a year and four months, and my daughter is growing up in front of me while I am helpless,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
![\"Nebal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/873A6167-1769968142.jpg\")
Nebal with her two-year-old daughter, Rita [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Uncertain future<\/p>\n
Nada Arhouma, a 16-year-old girl whose life has been completely altered by a single injury, is also hoping the crossing opens as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
Nada, who was displaced with her family from Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza amid Israel\u2019s two-year genocidal war on Gaza, was hit in the face by shrapnel while inside a displacement tent in Sheikh Radwan, Gaza City.<\/p>\n
The incident caused the complete loss of one eye, in addition to fractures in her facial bones, orbital damage, and severe tissue tearing.<\/p>\n
Her father, Abdul Rahman Arhouma, 49, says that her health deteriorated over time despite treatment attempts in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe entered the ICU at al-Shifa Hospital, then was transferred to Nasser Hospital. She stayed there for about two and a half months. They tried multiple times to graft her eye, but each operation failed, and the disfigurement worsened,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
According to her father, Nada underwent three surgical attempts using tissue from her hand and other facial areas, but all failed, further complicating her medical and psychological condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter bleeds from her eye every day, and she has pus and discharge,\u201d he says. \u201cI am standing helpless, unable to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, Nada needs constant assistance to walk and suffers from persistent dizziness and balance weakness. Her vision in the healthy eye is also affected.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven going to the bathroom, my sisters help me. I can\u2019t walk alone,\u201d Nada tells Al Jazeera in a soft voice.<\/p>\n
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/unnamed121-1769970172.jpg\")
A photo showing Nada\u2019s condition before and after the injury [Courtesy of Abdul Rahman Arhouma]<\/p>\n
Nada has an official medical referral and urgently needs to travel for reconstructive surgery and the implantation of a prosthetic eye. But her ability to get the treatments remains uncertain pending the reopening of Rafah \u2013 as is the case for other patients and wounded individuals.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I\u2019ve been in the hospital, I hear every week: next week the crossing will open. Honestly, I feel they are lying. I\u2019m not optimistic,\u201d Nada says.<\/p>\n
Her father told Al Jazeera that the continuing wait for the Rafah crossing to reopen was \u201cdisappointing\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, we didn\u2019t understand anything. All the reports came from Israeli sources, and it seemed Rafah looked like a gate for prisoners, not for travel,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur situation is difficult, and it\u2019s clear we face a long wait to secure my daughter\u2019s right to treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pilot reopening<\/p>\n
Sunday was the first pilot reopening day at Rafah, amid ambiguity and a lack of clarity about the mechanism, particularly regarding the number of patients and wounded who would be allowed to travel.<\/p>\n
According to Gaza\u2019s Ministry of Health, thousands of patients and wounded people require urgent medical transfers outside the Strip, amid the collapse of the healthcare system and lack of resources.<\/p>\n
The World Health Organization has repeatedly confirmed that Gaza\u2019s health system is \u201con the brink of collapse\u201d, and that delays in travelling for critical cases threaten their lives.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Israel has said it will only allow those whose names it has approved in advance to cross, without any clear announcement on daily numbers or approved criteria, leaving families of patients in constant anticipation and frustration.<\/p>\n
For Nada\u2019s family, this \u201cexperimental opening\u201d means little so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t plan, neither to stay nor to leave,\u201d her father says. \u201cThe decision is not in our hands. One lives in a whirlpool, unable to decide what happens. Even the Ministry of Health has not disclosed anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Devastating\u2019 struggle to access treatment<\/p>\n
Raed Hamad, 52 and a father of four, is also desperate to leave Gaza in order to seek treatments and medication that are not available in the war-ravaged territory.<\/p>\n
Hamad was undergoing kidney cancer treatment a year before the war started. He underwent kidney removal after tumour detection to prevent its spread. But the outbreak of the war in October 2023 halted his treatment protocol, significantly affecting his health.<\/p>\n
Hamad lives in the remains of his destroyed home in Khan Younis, amid the devastation left by the war, under deteriorating humanitarian conditions.<\/p>\n
He describes his current struggle to access treatment during the war, alongside other cancer patients he meets in the hospital\u2019s oncology department, as \u201cdevastating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe war has made it almost impossible to obtain medicines and medical supplies. Cancer treatments and known treatment protocols are unavailable,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cFood, its nature, and the harsh crises we\u2019ve endured during the war\u2014all of this has greatly affected my health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raed\u2019s weight dropped from 92kg (203lb) to 65kg (143lb) due to complications from the disease, lack of treatment, and malnutrition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI continue my treatment whenever I can at my own expense,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery time I go to the hospital, I cannot find my treatment and see that capabilities in Gaza are extremely limited. My immunity is low, and every day I face new hardships.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to complete my protocol, undergo nuclear scans, and obtain some essential medications to continue my treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gaza City \u2013 With what remains of her wounded forearms, Nebal al-Hessi scrolls on her phone to follow…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2664,50,163,2128,85,46,44,47,43,48],"class_list":["post-269290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-features","tag-gaza","tag-health","tag-humanitarian-crises","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-israel-palestine-conflict","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-palestine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}