Dozens of Gazans who have been receiving medical treatment at Emirates Humanitarian City in Abu Dhabi are to return to their home country.
The humanitarian centre has been a refuge from the Israel-Gaza conflict for thousands of Palestinians since 2023, but many long to be reunited with their families back home.
Among them is 59-year-old Ibtisam Salout. She is preparing to return to Gaza in the coming days, after three years in the UAE. Ms Salout is a mother of nine and has 45 grandchildren.
“The first thing I’ll do is gather them all and hold them tight. Yes, all of them," she says.
She checks her suitcases before checking them again: the dresses for her daughters, the chocolates for her grandchildren.
“The sneakers are for the boys. They sent me a photo and asked for these brands specifically," she says.
Ms Salout is from Deir Al Balah. She arrived in the UAE in 2023 for treatment. She had breast cancer and her treatment had been interrupted after October 7.
The UAE has provided medical treatment and comprehensive health care for 1,000 cancer patients and 1,000 injured children from the Gaza Strip.
“When I arrived, they began treatment immediately and discovered the cancer was also in my lymph nodes. They saved my life,” Ms Salout says.
Every patient is allowed an escort, but she does not have one.
“I didn’t bring anyone with me. My husband said, ‘You are in the safest country in the world, with the kindest people taking care of you. I would be more worried about you in Gaza. Get better and come back to us. I’ll stay with the children and wait for you.' ”
Today, she is cancer-free and ready to go back home to Gaza. “I’ll kiss its ground before running to my family," says Ms Salout.
Her house has been partially destroyed, but her husband and children continue to live there. “We fixed it up like we will fix Gaza,” she says.
Bittersweet farewell
Ms Salout is one of dozens of Palestinians who have completed their treatment and are heading back home. There remain close to 3,000 Gazans at the UAE’s Humanitarian City under treatment.
“The plan was always that they would return home once they completed their treatment, but it is hard to part with them after so many years. They have become our family," says Falah Al Qahtani, spokesperson for EHC.
A few Gazans have married at EHC, and others have had children. Younger children are enrolled in schools and nurseries, while adult Gazans are enrolled in online universities. Almost every week, there is a celebration at the complex: a birth, a birthday or a graduation.
“This is a bittersweet farewell. We are happy that they are heading back home. We are happy that they are happy and can go back, but they have also formed deep connections with us and the country.”
For Ms Salout, this is not goodbye.
“You have to come to Gaza. I’ll make you fatteh, and I make the best maftool. You can ask anyone,” she says with pride.
There are 30 people living with her but, she says; “I’ve told them to keep a clean room always ready for 'the Emirati'. Without them, I wouldn’t have been alive today.”
Shelter from horrors of war
The EHC has served as a sanctuary for many of those affected by the violence of the war. The centre is part of the UAE's continuing humanitarian operations in solidarity with the Palestinians.
About medical 150 appointments are carried out each day within the vast complex, not including admissions to hospitals in Abu Dhabi for complex surgery.
A building at EHC has a pharmacy, clinics, a ward with hospital beds staffed by doctors, paediatricians, an internal medicine doctor, psychiatrists, dentists and a rehabilitation specialist.
The complex has a medical team of more than 50 doctors, nurses, therapists and administrators. There is also a school serving more than 400 children.