STORY · 17 JUNE 2026 · CAIRO
After more than two years of separation, Yaser Al Rayyes was reunited with his father Arafat, his mother Sanaa and his brother Mohammed. It was a night of deep emotion, at the end of a chain of humanitarian and institutional action.
17 June 2026, Cairo — Yaser Al Rayyes is reunited with his father Arafat after more than two years of separation.
During the night of 17 June 2026, a door opened in Cairo. At last, Yaser saw his father, his mother and his younger brother in person rather than on a phone screen. Gestures came before words: after the war, the injuries and the waiting, the Al Rayyes family was together again.
A night awaited for more than two years
Yaser Al Rayyes had been living in France for just over a year when his family joined him in Egypt. Their separation had begun well before his arrival in Concarneau and had lasted more than two years, against the backdrop of war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Yaser’s father, Arafat, had been seriously injured in an explosion in September 2025. His medical condition, that of his relatives and the impossibility of moving them to safety led to the preparation of a documented patient file, followed by months of coordinated efforts.
From Gaza to Cairo: thirteen days between two stages
On 4 June 2026, Arafat, Sanaa and Mohammed were evacuated from Gaza to Egypt as part of an operation coordinated by the World Health Organization. Once across the border, however, the family remained in North Sinai, still separated from Yaser, who was in Cairo waiting to welcome them.
On 11 June, Mr Diab Al-Louh, then Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Egypt, intervened to facilitate the transfer to the capital. Six days later, the vehicle finally arrived. This institutional contribution is recounted in Human Sea Bridge’s tribute to Mr Diab Al-Louh.
4 June
Evacuation from Gaza.
Arafat, Sanaa and Mohammed enter Egypt.
11 June
Institutional support.
An intervention facilitates the transfer from North Sinai.
17 June
Reunion.
Yaser is finally reunited with his father, mother and brother in Cairo.
The reunion in images
These images were filmed as the family arrived. They do not sum up the suffering endured or the months of work behind this moment, but they show what was at stake in its simplest form: allowing loved ones to find one another alive.
The video can be viewed directly at the top of this article, without an Instagram account. You can also see the original post and follow @pontdemerhumanitaire to keep up with our work and its progress.
A DECISIVE STEP, NOT THE END OF THE JOURNEY
The reunion has not ended Arafat’s medical needs or the uncertainty surrounding the family’s future. It is nevertheless a decisive step: leaving Gaza has been followed by an actual reunification, and medical follow-up can now be organised in less fragmented conditions.
Behind every case file, every authorisation and every institutional link in the chain, there is a family waiting to be able to resume its life.
This night of 17 June is a reminder of why Human Sea Bridge exists: to document situations, connect medical and institutional actors, maintain follow-up over time and make it possible to move from an individual emergency to a concrete solution. This work continues today alongside the Al Rayyes family and other people facing the same barriers to accessing care.
Further reading: Le Télégramme and Le Parisien also reported on this reunion (both in French).
