Did The UK Government Separate Children From Parents In Gaza?

Louise Harkin, from the group Support Families in Gaza, has accused the United Kingdom (UK) government of separating British children in the Gaza Strip from their mothers. British citizens trapped in Gaza have faced the consequences of the Israel-Hamas conflict. 

The United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has begun putting names of British citizens trapped in the Gaza Strip onto the list of those people allowed to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing to Egypt. However, the citizens without passports were left off its safe passage list. This move separated British children from parents. Some British citizens complained that their dependents were not included by the Foreign Office.

Louise Harkin of Support Families in Gaza said, “They have been quite clear that British Palestinians are being treated very differently to people fleeing the Ukraine conflict.”

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Did the UK government separate children from parents in Gaza?

Louise Harkin of Support Families in Gaza said, “Gaza is currently the least safe place on the planet. Almost 10,000 people are confirmed dead, almost half of whom are children, yet the UK government wants to separate British children from their mothers and families.”

Louise Harkin called on the UK government to allow British citizens living in Gaza to bring their families with them. 

British nationals called the Rafah Border Crossing, the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, an “absolute chaos.” British citizens said that they had been “abandoned” by the UK government.

A British citizen told the media, “It just feels like those of us with Palestinian heritage are always treated like second-class citizens.”

The Palestinian border authority issued names of people who were eligible to present themselves at the crossing with their passports. Passport holders were allowed to leave Gaza via the border crossing and enter Egypt. However, people without passports were left stranded in Gaza. Many British children were separated from their parents.

British families said that the United States allowed anybody with an American family to leave. A British citizen told the media, “We know of somebody who lives in the US who has managed to get 19 family members evacuated even though not one of them has an American passport.”

A war broke out between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters living in the Gaza Strip on 7 October. The Israel-Hamas conflict created a humanitarian crisis in the region. Pregnant women in the Gaza Strip also suffered because of the Israel-Hamas war. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 50,000 pregnant women have been bearing the consequences of the Israel-Hamas conflict.