UK government faces legal challenge over broken promise to rescue family from Gaza
Children and women waiting to receive cooked food from a charity kitchen in central Gaza, 30 September 2025
Areeb Ullah reports in Middle East Eye on 14 November 2025:
A Palestinian father has accused the British government of putting his family in Gaza “in constant danger” after it failed to evacuate them, despite promising to do so more than two months ago.
Lawyers representing the Palestinian man, who is in the UK and wishes to remain anonymous to protect his family, said his wife, three children and adopted nephew remain stranded in the Zawida area of Gaza after being displaced by Israeli bombardment.
The family lives in a flimsy tent with little access to food, clean water or medical care as they continue to wait for the British government to evacuate them.
“My family are in constant danger, and I worry about them every minute of every day,” the man told Middle East Eye. “The UK government promised to help them but has now gone back on that promise for no good reason, while they continue to suffer.
“My children are so scared, they cannot sleep because of the constant hunger and fear that strikes will resume at any minute. I can’t bear to be separated from my wife and children – if anything happens to them, my own life will not be worth living.”
In August 2025, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) agreed to provide consular assistance to evacuate the family to the UK. Despite receiving Israeli clearances to exit Gaza, lawyers say that neither the FCDO nor the Home Office has taken steps to secure their evacuation.
MEE understands the Home Office has granted the family reunion visas in principle. But to activate those visas, the family must undergo biometric checks – an impossible task to complete in Gaza, where no visa application centre operates.