The al-Najjar family is finally reunited with its matriarch, Mariam, who returned via the Rafah crossing. The return to Gaza: Passage through the Rafah crossing heavily restricted The al-Najjar family gathered at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, early to await the arrival of their matriarch. They stood shoulder to shoulder, eagerly waiting for the bus. For nearly two years, they have been counting down the days, amid Israel’s genocidal war, destruction, trauma and mourning, until Mariam could return home via the Rafah crossing. “We [the family] feel happy because we will see my mother again,” Mohammad al-Najjar, Mariam’s son, told Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis. The family has suffered heavy losses, like all in Gaza. “But we are sad ...