Aussie family in Gaza pleads for government's help
The family of four from Adelaide were visiting family in Gaza for the first time in 12 years when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. Now they're trapped and begging for support to get them out of the besieged city.
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An Australian family left stranded in Gaza has made a desperate plea to the federal government to negotiate safe passage back home.
The Palestinian-Australian man from Adelaide took his wife and two children, aged 7 and 10, to Gaza two weeks ago to visit family. It was the first time he had been back in 12 years.
However, the family has become stuck in the now blockaded territory after Hamas’ brutal attack on an Israeli music festival on Saturday, with all borders into both Israel and Egypt closed off.
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The Adelaide Advertiser reports the family, who did not want to be identified out of fears for their safety, are four of the 19 Australians known to be trapped in Gaza.
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"We only just survived"
The father said his family was living in daily terror of being hit by a bomb as they tried to negotiate their way back to Australia.
He said they had fled his in-law’s house on Monday night just before the house next door was destroyed by a bomb.
The father has posted footage on his social media of missiles exploding near Gaza’s border with Egypt, and told The Advertiser he was terrified his family would die there.
“A few hours after we arrived, the neighbourhood received a warning that a soccer field would be shelled so everyone evacuated,” he said.
“The IDF bombarded not just the soccer field but the building next door to my in-laws — we just survived.”
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"She's been throwing up constantly"
The family is now staying at the father’s parents’ home in the southern part of Rafah where bombs have been falling less than 100m away.
The father told The Advertiser his children were terrified, and the stress was making his seven-year-old daughter physically ill.
“My daughter especially gets panic attacks and becomes physically sick — she’s been throwing up constantly,” he said.
“My 10-year-old son is trying to be brave … but he has ADHD and we are running out of medication.”
The family initially attempted to cross the Rafah Border Crossing into Egypt once the bombing started on Sunday, but they were turned away and told not to try again.
They contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, but said they were given no practical advice or help from Australian authorities.
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"We can't see a doctor and we can't leave home"
The family told The Advertiser DFAT got back to them on Tuesday saying they could try to cross the Egyptian border at their own risk.
To add to the stress, the mother became very sick on Wednesday and doesn’t have access to a doctor.
“She is very stressed — she vomits and has diarrhoea and an elevated temperature too,” her husband said.
“We are trying home remedies with what we have available. We can’t see a doctor and we can’t leave home.”
A DFAT spokesman told The Advertiser the department was providing assistance to an Australian family in Gaza but “owing to our privacy obligations we cannot provide further comment”.
The Australian government has so far promised to evacuate about 12,000 citizens and dual nationals in Israel, but information on the exact number of Australians in Gaza remains limited.
On Wednesday, the government announced 66-year-old Galit Carbone was the first Australian confirmed to have been killed in the conflict after an attack by Hamas outside her home.
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