ISRAELI OCCUPIED AND STARVED GAZA, 10 Oct. - (ANA) - A Palestinian woman was secretly evacuated from Gaza in recent weeks with help from the US, Israeli and Jordanian governments, while Israel intensified its bombardment on the territory while launching a full-scale invasion of Gaza City.

 

The evacuation of 59-year-old Ahlam Firwana was reportedly facilitated by direct involvement of senior US officials who had helped secure agreements from Israel and Jordan to allow her to leave Gaza, according to people familiar with the matter and correspondence reviewed by The Washington Post.

 

Firwana's evacuation required a donation of $10,000 to cover transportation after an Israeli escort had been "abandoned" due to delays in paperwork, and software to monitor her movement as Israel's horrific war raged on.

 

The evacuation reportedly took place because Firwana's son, Younis Firwana, is a US citizen currently serving in the US Navy.

 

He had enlisted in the navy in 2023 while his mother and six siblings were trapped in the Gaza Strip, receiving US citizenship in 2024.

 

Firwana had tried since then to arrange for his mother's evacuation amid complaints from Palestinian-Americans that the US government was not doing enough to help their families still trapped in the territory amid Israel's genocidal war.

 

Many evacuations were refused on 'national security' grounds.

 

However, Younis could not find anyone to escort her out of the Gaza Strip or assist her in renewing her passport after it had expired. His siblings' applications were denied.

 

A team led by retired Army Colonel Steve Gabavic, who had previously served in Jerusalem, coordinated Firwana’s evacuation. Drawing on his contacts in the Israeli military, Shin Bet, and Mossad, Gabavic arranged her safe exit and ensured the army would not target her area, creating a "security buffer" around her.

 

Younis had contacted the Special Operations Association of America, an organisation which had worked for evacuation of roughly 1,100 people from Gaza since the outbreak of the war, and one of its members formed the team to help get his mother out.

 

Other members of the team included Trump's deputy special envoy to the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, who connected US embassy officials in Amman, and Ben Clay, an Army Special Operations veteran who led the extraction operation.

 

While the $10,000 donation allowed for Firwana to be securely moved from Gaza City to the Kerem Shalom border crossing through hired ground transportation, the plan had to be scrapped after Israel launched its ground invasion into Gaza City.

 

After her other son found a car, the last nine miles of Firwana's journey were completed on foot, under aerial protection, with Israel temporarily pausing airstrikes and roads becoming filled with fleeing Palestinians.

 

Younis Firwana detailed how his family's seven-story home was levelled after an Israeli attack in 2024, and how they were forced to eat birdseed as food and medicine became scarce.

 

Ahlam Firwana is currently in Jordan, waiting for her visa to be approved.

 

Around 400 US citizens have requested evacuation from Gaza, but so far only 75 have been able to leave.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/10 October 2025  - - -