A Palestinian woman whose son serves in the US Navy was quietly evacuated from Gaza in recent weeks through a complex operation involving the Trump administration and the governments of Israel and Jordan, The Washington Post reported.
According to the report, the mission required a temporary halt in Israeli military operations to allow the safe passage of 59-year-old Ahlam Firwana. The evacuation highlighted the immense challenges faced by those trying to legally leave Gaza without significant assistance or influence.
Firwana’s son, Navy Petty Officer Younis Firwana, became a US citizen in February 2024 after joining the military the previous year. From his post in California, he had sought help for his mother’s evacuation as his family in Gaza faced increasing danger, losing their seven-story home during the fighting and suffering from severe shortages of food and medicine.
The extraction effort involved coordination among multiple parties. Veterans from the Special Operations Association of America, including retired Army Colonel Steve Gabavics, worked with Morgan Ortagus, President Donald Trump’s deputy special envoy to the Middle East, and US diplomats in Jordan. Israeli and Jordanian officials also facilitated the process.
Gabavics told The Washington Post that contacts in the Israeli security establishment helped secure permission for Firwana’s safe passage. The team arranged for $10,000 in transportation costs and relied on software to monitor her movements as she traveled toward the Kerem Shalom crossing.
When her original transport plan collapsed amid intensified fighting, Firwana’s son found a vehicle to carry her part of the way. She completed the final stretch on foot, walking nine miles to safety during a brief pause in airstrikes. The journey took 19 hours.
Firwana is now in Jordan awaiting visa approval to enter the United States. Her son expressed gratitude for the effort but questioned why such extreme measures were necessary for his mother’s rescue, telling The Washington Post that the United States "should be doing more than this."