17 June 2026: The Al Rayyes Family Reunited in Cairo
After more than two years of separation, Yaser Al Rayyes was reunited with his father Arafat, his mother Sanaa and his brother Mohammed — an intensely emotional night at the end of a long humanitarian and institutional chain of action.
During the night of 17 June 2026, a door opened in Cairo. For the first time in more than two years, Yaser saw his father, mother and younger brother somewhere other than on a phone screen. Gestures came before words: after war, injury and an exhausting wait, part of 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 reached him in Egypt. Their separation had begun well before his arrival in Concarneau and continued for more than two years against the backdrop of war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Yaser’s father, Arafat, was seriously injured in an explosion in September 2025. His medical condition, the danger facing his relatives and the impossibility of moving them to safety led to the preparation of a documented patient file, followed by months of coordinated action.
From Gaza to Cairo: thirteen days between two stages
On 4 June 2026, Arafat, Sanaa and Mohammed were evacuated from Gaza to Egypt in an operation coordinated by the World Health Organization. Crossing the border did not immediately end the separation: the family remained in North Sinai while Yaser waited in Cairo.
On 11 June, Mr Diab Al-Louh, then Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Egypt, intervened to help facilitate the transfer to the capital. Six days later, the vehicle finally arrived. His institutional contribution is also recalled in Human Sea Bridge’s tribute to Mr Al-Louh.
Evacuation from Gaza
Arafat, Sanaa and Mohammed entered Egypt.
Institutional support
An intervention helped facilitate the transfer from North Sinai.
Family reunited
Yaser was finally reunited with his father, mother and brother in Cairo.
The reunion in images
The footage was recorded as the family arrived. It cannot sum up the suffering they had endured or the months of work behind the journey. It shows the simplest purpose of that work: enabling family members to find one another alive.
A decisive step, not the end of the pathway
The reunion did not end Arafat’s medical needs or the uncertainty surrounding the family’s future. It was nevertheless a decisive milestone: departure from Gaza was followed by an actual reunification, and medical follow-up could be organised in less fragmented conditions.
Behind every case file, every authorisation and every institutional relay is a family waiting for the chance to resume its life.
The night of 17 June reflects the reason Pont de Mer Humanitaire — Human Sea Bridge internationally — exists: to document situations, connect medical and institutional actors, maintain follow-up over time and help build a passage from an individual emergency to a practical solution. That work continues with the Al Rayyes family and with others facing similar barriers to healthcare.
Further reading: Le Télégramme and Le Parisien also reported on the reunion (articles in French).