GAZA/CAIRO, Feb 06 (Reuters): Eatedal Rayyan waited for this moment for nearly two years: a reunion with her husband in Gaza, where she says yearning for family and homeland has persisted despite widespread destruction from the enclave's two-year war.
Rayyan, 29, left Gaza with her mother and three children after suffering a leg injury that doctors warned could need amputation if left untreated. She was one of tens of thousands who fled to Egypt in the early months of the conflict.
After months of treatment in Egypt, Rayyan was eventually able to walk again. And on Thursday, she, her mother and her children were among a small number of Palestinians allowed to return to Gaza after Israel reopened the Rafah border crossing, largely shut since the start of the fighting in October 2023.
"I long to return to my homeland, despite everything that happened, the bombardment, and despite the fact that I will be returning to live in a tent," Rayyan, who fled in March 2024, told Reuters from Egypt before crossing back in on Thursday.
Reuters followed her journey from the Egyptian town of Al-Arish, where thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge. Her children - Hanan, 8, Ezz, 5, and Mohammad, 4 - grinned from ear to ear as they packed their suitcases with blankets and winter coats.
Hanan put a bow in her hair in anticipation of the reunion with her father. "We are going to Gaza!" the kids chanted excitedly before heading off towards the border.
Rayyan and her children left midday on Thursday for the Rafah crossing, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Al-Arish.
Once there, they would have to clear three checkpoints: one run by Egypt, another by Palestinian and European officials, and a third by Israeli security forces.
