Khaberni - In an extremely sensitive and complex operation, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump managed to evacuate Palestinian Ahlam Furawana (59 years old) from the Gaza Strip over the past few weeks, in a move executed in direct coordination with the Israeli and Jordanian governments, and required a temporary cessation of Israeli air strikes to ensure her safe passage.
A secret operation with international coordination
According to American sources, the operation took several weeks of preparation and involved direct communication between high-level American officials and security circles in both Tel Aviv and Amman, to secure Ahlam's exit from the besieged area.
The operation included a donation of $10,000 to cover transportation costs, and the use of advanced technical means to track her location and ensure her safety during her move from Gaza through the crossing to Jordan.
Who is Ahlam Furawana?
Ahlam Furawana is a Palestinian resident of Gaza, and the mother of Younes Furawana (32 years old), who joined the U.S. Navy in 2023 as part of his pursuit of American citizenship.
After the outbreak of war in October 2023, the family lost their seven-story home and were forced to live in harsh humanitarian conditions amid a severe shortage of food and medicine, even sometimes – according to her son – being forced to eat bird food to survive.
Controversy over American evacuation policies
Since the outbreak of the war, the issue of evacuating Americans from Gaza has been a point of tension between Palestinian families holding American citizenship and the Trump administration, as several families have filed lawsuits accusing the administration of failing to protect them.
Lawyer Maria Carey, who represents a number of these families, said that American policy towards Gaza became stricter during Trump's tenure, especially after the decision by the State Department in August 2024 to stop issuing visit visas to Gaza's children, following a campaign of criticism from right-wing activist Laura Loomer who considered receiving children from Gaza in America a "national security threat".
The journey of migration and the long wait
After obtaining American citizenship in February 2024, Younes Furawana began intensive efforts to get his mother out of the sector, but bureaucratic procedures delayed the files of the rest of the family members.
Ahlam was the only one who received preliminary approval to enter American territory, making her a direct focus of interest from the American Embassy in Amman, which monitored her transfer until her arrival in the Jordanian capital, and from there to the United States.
Unprecedented security cooperation
The Washington Post revealed that the operation team relied on direct contacts with the Israeli military and the security agencies "Shabak" and "Mossad" to secure a safe passage for Ahlam, and guarantee that her location was not targeted during her transit.
An American security source involved in the operation described the tripartite coordination between Washington, Tel Aviv, and Amman as "the most sensitive since the beginning of the war in Gaza".
Humanitarian and political dimensions
Observers believe that the evacuation operation holds intertwined humanitarian and political dimensions, as the former Trump administration seeks to present itself as a defender of Americans of Arab descent, amid widespread criticism of its policies towards Gaza.
The operation also reveals the level of security cooperation between Washington and Tel Aviv, even in the most sensitive files, reflecting the deep intertwining of humanitarian and political considerations in the ongoing conflict.
In the end, the evacuation of Ahlam Furawana from Gaza represents more than just a humanitarian story; it is a dual political message: on one hand, a showcase of Washington's capability to execute precise operations in a complex security environment, and on the other hand, a reminder that the war in Gaza is still reshaping regional and international relations lines, between humanity and interests.
