Inside a makeshift tent in northern Gaza’s al-Shati refugee camp, 33-year-old Enas Abu Daqqa cradles her seven-month-old daughter, Niveen. A fan hums behind them, offering little relief from the morning heat. Niveen, born with a hole in her heart during the ongoing war, squirms and cries in her mother’s arms.

“The war has been so hard on her,” Enas tells the BBC. “She wasn’t gaining weight, and she kept getting sick.”

With Gaza’s healthcare system in collapse, Niveen’s only hope was treatment abroad. In early March, during a temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Jordan evacuated 29 ailing Gazan children, including Niveen, for medical care. Her mother and sister accompanied her.

The mission was part of a plan announced by King Abdullah to treat 2,000 sick children from Gaza in Jordanian hospitals. The evacuations were coordinated with Israeli authorities, who conducted background checks on accompanying parents.

In Jordan, doctors successfully performed open-heart surgery on Niveen. Her recovery had just begun when, two weeks later, the ceasefire ended and Israel resumed its offensive. From her daughter’s hospital room, Enas watched the escalating violence back home, terrified for her husband and other children still in Gaza.

Then, on the night of May 12, Jordanian authorities informed her that she and her family would return to Gaza the next day, citing the completion of Niveen’s treatment. Enas was stunned.

“We left during a ceasefire. How could they send us back now that war has resumed?” she said.

Now reunited with her family in Gaza, Enas insists Niveen’s care was not complete and fears her condition could worsen.

“My daughter is still very sick—sometimes she turns blue and can’t breathe,” Enas says. “She can’t survive in a tent.”

On May 13, Jordan confirmed the return of 17 children it said had completed treatment. The following day, four more children were evacuated from Gaza to Jordan. Jordanian officials stated that the returns were necessary for “logistical and political reasons,” and reiterated the country’s stance against contributing to Palestinian displacement.

“Jordan’s policy is to keep Palestinians on their land,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, explaining that making room for new patients was a priority.

However, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry disagreed, warning that the returned children still required care and were now in danger.

Another Family's Ordeal

Among the returned is Mohammed, a toddler with severe asthma and food allergies. His mother, 30-year-old Nihaya Bassel, says her son’s condition remains serious.

“We’re back in fear and hunger, surrounded by death,” she says. “He needs special milk, but I can’t get it. He can’t eat without getting sick.”

Nihaya now lives in a crowded tent with relatives in al-Shati camp. Her husband and three children had fled their home due to heavy airstrikes while she was in Jordan.

“I left my family in a war zone for my son’s treatment,” she says, tears streaming down her face. “Why send us back before it was done?”

The return journey was harrowing. “We left at 4:00 a.m. and didn’t reach Gaza until nearly 11 p.m.,” she recalls. At the border, she says Israeli security forces harassed them, confiscated their money, phones, and bags—including vital medical supplies and records.

Enas experienced the same. “They even took Niveen’s medical supplies,” she says.

The Israeli military confirmed seizing “undeclared cash” over limits, citing concerns it could be used for terrorism. It did not comment on the confiscation of other belongings.

Nihaya now finds herself back in Gaza empty-handed. Even her son's medical documents were lost.

Despite gratitude for Jordan’s care, both mothers fear that the progress their children made will unravel in Gaza’s war-torn conditions.

“I was so happy to see my son getting better,” Nihaya says. “Now they’ve brought us back to the start. I just don’t want him to die.”