‘We couldn’t save her’: For some Rafah opening comes too late

Ibtisam Abu Ameera was just three years old. No one ever knew what illness she had. Gaza’s laboratories lacked the tools and tests needed to diagnose her condition. Days after her medical evacuation papers were finally approved, Ibtisam died. “My daughter died three months ago and until today I don’t know what was wrong with her… We couldn’t save her life because the Rafah crossing was closed. Israel was isolating Gaza, blocking everything – medicine and lab tests,” her mother Ayesha told Al Jazeera. Since Rafah was closed by the Israelis in 2024, at least 1,268 Palestinians have died in Gaza waiting for medical evacuation.