Jordan is sending back Palestinian children after being treated in their hospitals to the war-torn Gaza Strip, with families of the children showing worry about their health not being sustained in the war situation. Several parents have also claimed that their children are being sent back before the completion of the treatment.
Enas Abu Daqqa, whose baby girl Niveen was born with a hole in her heart, spoke to BCC about her time in Jordan. After the Jordanian King visited the United States in February, he announced plans to treat 2,000 sick Gaza children in Jordanian hospitals. In accordance with this promise, 29 children, including Niveen, were evacuated to Jordan in early March.
However, two weeks into the children’s treatment, the ceasefire deal in Gaza collapsed, and for a while, Enas followed the news from the hospital room in Jordan, hoping for her family’s safety.
Then, on the night of May 12, Enas was informed that they were being sent back to Gaza as Niveen had completed her treatment. “We left while there was a ceasefire. How could they send us back after the war had restarted?” Enas was quoted by the BBC.
Children were returned mid-treatment, risking lives in active war
Meanwhile, Jordan says that they had planned to send the children back from the very start, saying that their policy is to keep Palestinians on their land, and not to contribute to their displacement.
Enas claims that her daughter was sent back before her treatment was completed. According to the BBC report, officials from the Hamas-run health ministry claim that the children sent back still needed care, and that their return to the war endangered their lives.
Another Palestinian woman, Nihaya Bassel, whose son Mohammad suffers from asthma and serious food allergies, also recounts her experience on her trip back to Gaza from Jordan. She stated that they were harassed by Israeli security forces. “They started cursing at us. They threatened to beat us. They took all our money. They took our mobile phones, our bags and everything,” Nihaya said.
Israel accused of confiscating medical records, personal belongings
While the Israeli army claims that they confiscated undeclared cash exceeding normal limits from Gazans returning from Jordan on suspicion that they would be used for terrorism within Gaza, they have not given a reason as to why they confiscated people’s personal belongings.
Enas and Nihaya said that their children’s medical records and medical supplies were also confiscated, and they returned home empty-handed.
According to reports, on May 20, six more children, along with their relatives, were evacuated by Jordan, with the number of children who have been evacuated now standing at 39. Reports mention how Israeli authorities are putting up hurdles by refusing to allow the children to be evacuated by air, forcing them to travel by land.
