‘A Death Sentence for My Son’: Israel Plans to Return Dozens of Sick Palestinians from East Jerusalem to Gaza, Doctors Say

‘A death sentence for my son’ — families and doctors sound the alarm

Yamen Al‑Najjar remembers a very different childhood: school days, laughter and the simple pleasures of home. Today the 16‑year‑old shares a cramped 6‑square‑meter room with his mother in East Jerusalem that barely fits the hospital bed he rarely leaves.

“Life is hard. I am sick and in pain all the time… I feel alone, and I miss home,” Yamen told CNN.

Yamen, who has a rare bleeding disorder, was medically evacuated from Gaza City to a Palestinian hospital in occupied East Jerusalem with his mother just two days before the October 7, 2023 attack. His mother, Haifa Al‑Najjar, and his treating clinicians say his condition remains difficult to manage and that even in East Jerusalem they have been unable to secure the specialised care he needs.

For two years Haifa has sought a medical evacuation for her son to a third country. She secured World Health Organization (WHO) approval for a transfer but has spent 14 months trying to find a host country willing to accept him.

Planned returns prompt urgent warnings

On Tuesday morning, doctors at Makassed Hospital informed Haifa that Israeli authorities had decided that patients from Gaza admitted in East Jerusalem would be returned home next week, including some who are currently undergoing treatment. Medical teams at Makassed Hospital and Augusta Victoria Hospital say Yamen and his mother are among at least 89 Gazan patients and their companions affected by the decision.

“All my hard work will vanish before my eyes. I can’t comprehend how a sick child is going to be sent back to a disaster‑stricken area… This is a death sentence for my son,” Haifa said.

Hospital staff told CNN that while most patients have agreed to return, some will be sent back against their will because there is no feasible treatment for them inside the battered Gaza Strip. The WHO reported last month that 94% of hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

Who is affected?

Hospital authorities say the group to be returned ranges in age from newborns — babies born to women brought to Jerusalem for care — to an 85‑year‑old. Most have been in the city since before the war. Some patients, such as those who need dialysis or specialised long‑term care, face immediate life‑threatening risks if adequate treatment is not available after return.

Salwa Massad, a WHO research manager, told CNN that the organisation was asked by the Israeli military’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) to help facilitate transfers early next week. CNN contacted COGAT for comment but had not received a response.

Voices from patients and advocates

Yamen’s father, brother and two sisters remain in Gaza, displaced in a tent camp in Al‑Mawasi after their Gaza City home was bombed. Haifa says Yamen’s condition is so fragile that he could not survive in a tent for even a few hours without medical treatment.

“His blood pressure fluctuates, his temperature is always low, he bleeds all the time, and he suffers from body aches… I categorically refuse to return to Gaza,” Haifa said through tears.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), an Israeli non‑profit, called the planned returns “unacceptable from moral, medical, and legal standpoints,” describing Gaza’s health system as effectively nonfunctional. “Israel is obligated under international humanitarian law to ensure that patients in need of medical care continue to receive it in the hospitals where they are currently admitted, or in any other hospital in Israel or abroad,” Aseel Aburass, director of PHRI’s Occupied Territories Department, told CNN.

Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian‑Israeli member of Israel’s parliament, said Yamen’s welfare remains Israel’s responsibility. “Sending them back under the current conditions will be a death blow; instead of dying from an airstrike, he will die from being deprived of medical treatment,” he said.

Some patients voiced urgent personal fears. Nafez Al Qahwaji of Khan Younis, who needs dialysis three times a week, said he was told he would be deported back to Gaza and warned he would likely die within days without care. By contrast, Nael Ezzeddine from Jabalia, who has a heart condition and has been at Makassed Hospital for 25 months, said he wants to reunite with his displaced wife and 10 children in Deir el‑Balah despite the risks.

Legal and historical context

This is not the first time such returns have been threatened. In March 2024, Israeli authorities prepared to send 22 Palestinians from East Jerusalem back to Gaza, including newborns and cancer patients; Israel’s Supreme Court temporarily halted those plans after a petition by PHRI and coverage by CNN.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that most of the patients have agreed to return to Gaza.

Personal notes

When he can, Yamen paints. His colorful illustrations of nature, landscapes and Palestinian culture are, he says, his way of trying to “bring color back to a world that has turned gray.” “I miss my house, my siblings’ voices, my school, colors and the sea,” he said. “I have suffered a lot and I just want to rest… I hope every child in Gaza lives like any child in the world… I don’t want any child to get sick or be afraid like me.”

Reporting: CNN. The WHO and hospital authorities provided information to CNN; COGAT had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.