‘A Death Sentence for My Son’: Israel Plans to Deport Around 100 Gazan Patients from East Jerusalem, Families and Doctors Warn

Patients and doctors warn deportations could be life‑threatening

Hospitals in East Jerusalem say Israeli authorities planned to return roughly 100 patients and their companions from Gaza to the besieged enclave — a move that families, medical teams and rights groups say could prove deadly given the near-collapse of Gaza's health system.

Case study: Yamen Al‑Najjar

Sixteen‑year‑old Yamen Al‑Najjar remembers ordinary childhood days of school and play. Today he shares a cramped 6‑square‑metre room with his mother and rarely leaves the hospital bed there. He suffers from a rare bleeding disorder and was medically evacuated from Gaza City to a Palestinian hospital in East Jerusalem two days before the October 7, 2023 attacks.

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

Yamen's mother, Haifa Al‑Najjar, says she has spent two years trying to secure treatment for him abroad. The World Health Organization (WHO) approved a medical transfer, but Haifa spent 14 months seeking a host country willing to accept her son. On being told this week that Israeli authorities intended to send Gazan patients back home, she said: 'This is a death sentence for my son.'

Scope and official involvement

Doctors at Makassed Hospital, Augusta Victoria Hospital and Sheba–Tel Hashomer said some 100 Gazan patients and their companions were scheduled to be returned. Hospital staff told CNN that while many have agreed to go back, some are being returned despite a lack of available care in Gaza. The WHO reported last month that around 94% of hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

Salwa Massad, a research manager at WHO, said the Israeli military's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) asked the organization to help facilitate transfers. CNN reached out to COGAT and had not received a response at the time of reporting.

Voices from patients and advocates

Nafez Al Qahwaji, from Khan Younis, has kidney failure and requires dialysis three times a week. He said hospital staff informed him he would be repatriated; he feared he would die without treatment in Gaza. On Sunday he was later told his name had been removed from the deportation list and he could remain for care.

By contrast, Nael Ezzeddine from Jabalia, who has a heart condition and has been admitted to Makassed for more than two years, said he wishes to return to his displaced family living in a tent camp despite the risks: 'I want to go and be with them... even if I end up dying.'

Legal and ethical concerns

Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) called the planned returns 'unacceptable from moral, medical, and legal standpoints,' arguing that Israel is obliged under international humanitarian law to ensure continued care for patients it admitted or moved out of Gaza. Aseel Aburass, director of PHRI's Occupied Territories Department, said Israel must not shift responsibility after Gaza's healthcare infrastructure was devastated.

Palestinian‑Israeli lawmaker Ahmad Tibi also said Israel bears responsibility for the welfare of patients transferred out of Gaza: '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.'

Background and updates

This is not the first time Gazan patients in East Jerusalem have faced repatriation orders. In March 2024, plans to return 22 Palestinians, including newborns and cancer patients, were temporarily halted by Israel's Supreme Court after a petition by PHRI and media coverage.

Hospitals say some patients' names were subsequently removed from deportation lists and allowed to stay for treatment, while others remain scheduled for return. The situation is fluid and hospital teams report ongoing appeals and legal action on behalf of vulnerable patients.

Personal resilience

Despite his illness, Yamen paints bright scenes of nature and Palestinian life. 'Art helps me bring color back to a world that has turned gray,' 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.'

Correction: This story was updated to reflect that most of the patients had agreed to return to Gaza, and that some names were later removed from deportation lists. The article was also updated with additional information.