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Reuters reported on October 2 that Bissan was born six weeks prematurely after an Israeli airstrike hit her family home in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza in October 2023. The strike killed a sister she never met and seriously injured her pregnant mother Sundus al-Kurd, who required an emergency delivery to save both their lives. Bissan received treatment at Al Shifa Hospital until Israeli forces approached the facility in November 2023, prompting the evacuation of 29 preterm infants including her.
The news agency detailed how Bissan was transported in an incubator by ambulance to Egypt along with the rest of the group as part of a coordinated medical mission. Seven of those 29 infants died during their time in Egyptian care while Bissan survived and spent her first years in hospitals and a care home. Her mother made video calls whenever internet access was available in Gaza, according to the Reuters account.
In March 2026, with a ceasefire in place, Bissan was among 11 children returned to Gaza in a UN-assisted operation that reunited them with their families, Reuters said. The agency visited the families in the months afterward to document their adjustment. Sundus al-Kurd told reporters that her daughter initially did not recognize her at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
“Bissan has begun to understand who mama really is, who her mother really is,” Sundus said. “I am the only person present in her life. I am the one who feeds her, changes her clothes, combs her hair, and plays with her.” The report noted that the toddler had referred to any kind woman as “mama” in the early days after her return.
Earlier Reuters coverage from April 2026 on the initial reunions indicated that parents had been unable to accompany the infants during the 2023 evacuation due to border closures and ongoing fighting. The original group of 29 was moved from Al Shifa under coordination involving the World Health Organization before crossing into Egypt. Related reporting showed that the remaining children from the cohort either stayed with family members outside Gaza or did not survive.
Reuters photographers captured images of Bissan with her maternal uncle and mother in the weeks after the return as the family worked on their relationship. The agency placed the story within its wider documentation of children affected by the conflict that began in October 2023. Medical authorities had maintained identification records such as a pink bracelet to help link the infants with their families years later.
