Families camp at border fearing airstrikes as 45 Australians remain trapped in Gaza

A Palestinian-born Australian man stuck in Gaza with his wife and two children says they are camping out on the Egyptian border, waiting for a humanitarian passage to open so they can reach safety. The threat of Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion looms over two million people in the besieged enclave.

But the Rafah crossing, where the man and his family have been waiting with thousands of others for several days, is not operating despite an international effort – led by the United States and joined by Australia – to reopen it, so that humanitarian aid can make its way into Gaza and foreign nationals can get out.

A convoy of trucks carrying aid are on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, while Palestinians wait on the Gaza side to get out.Credit: Getty/AP

There are at least 45 Australian citizens in Gaza who have made themselves known to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles revealed on Tuesday, which is more than double the number the government said it knew about the day before. Some are families with children.

As food, fuel and water supplies dwindle, the Australians have been told to follow Israel’s order and evacuate Gaza’s north. If possible, they were told to make their way to Rafah. Marles said a humanitarian corridor through Rafah “would provide the key answer for those Australians who are in this situation”.

Hopes of a safe passage have been raised, then dashed. Despite signs on Monday that the border could open for a few hours, diplomatic talks are yet to yield a result. Humanitarian aid is banked on the Egyptian side, while desperate people trying to exit wait with their bags on the other.

“We are extremely heartbroken,” said the Adelaide man, who wants to withhold his name to protect his safety.

“We were told [the Rafah crossing] will open today; we went, waited for five hours, standing on our feet before we were turned back. So shattered... feeling helpless,” he said via email.

The family joined Palestinians fleeing south last Friday after they were sent a notice by DFAT to follow the Israeli evacuation order. On Sunday, the man said he received a phone call from a DFAT officer telling him to head to Rafah, where he would be able to cross into Egypt.

But they received a phone call shortly after, “telling us that the crossing opening plans have fallen through”.

Ramia Abdo Sultan is a lawyer on the executive committee of the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network, who has been communicating with Australian families of those stranded in Gaza.

She said Palestinian-Australians in Gaza were feeling panicked after 10 days without clear direction from the government or a pathway out of the enclave and feared becoming “collateral damage while stuck at the border”.

After several government-chartered repatriation flights carried about 1200 Australians out of Israel – the most recent of which had empty seats on them, leading the government to pause flights on Tuesday due to low demand – Sultan said Palestinian-Australians in Gaza felt forgotten by the Australian government.

“The support isn’t really there, it has not been given the same attention [as Australians in Israel],” she said.

She said many of the Australians had travelled to visit family in Gaza before the conflict broke out and were now largely unreachable because of limited access to electricity.

“Their only point of communication is through family members here, and there hasn’t been transparency or clear communication between government and family here to relay that information,” she said.

“They haven’t felt like the government’s priority. From the moment [the Hamas attack on October 7] happened, and we saw an immediate response by the Australian government to evacuate Australians out of Israel, we needed to see intervention.

“We’re 10 days into the issues unfolding in Gaza, and we still don’t have an answer. There’s still not clear direction. It’s concerning.”

Marles said Foreign Minister Penny Wong had been “extremely active on the phones” and was working with the international community to try to establish a safe corridor out of besieged Gaza before an Israeli ground invasion.

“Their situation is obviously extremely difficult,” he said. “It’s obviously a really delicate issue and that diplomacy is continuing at a pace and, where we can, we are lending our voice to all of that.”

Palestinians in Gaza wait to cross to the Egyptian side at the Rafah border on Monday.Credit: AP

The General Delegation of Palestine in Canberra, which is led by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and not affiliated with Hamas in Gaza, in a statement said the Palestinian community in Australia had “huge concerns” for the fate of their loved ones and wanted them to be safely repatriated as soon as possible.

“Unfortunately, while the process of repatriation has been applied to Australians in Israel with relative ease, this is not the case for Australians trapped in the Gaza Strip,” the delegation said.

“Regrettably, Israel’s forced closure of the Rafah crossing is still ongoing, and the Rafah crossing has been repeatedly bombed by Israeli airstrikes.

“This has left countless Palestinians, including Australians and other foreign nationals, waiting in fearful uncertainty to escape from the besieged Gaza Strip and Israel’s relentless onslaught.”

Hundreds of repatriated Australians who left Tel Aviv were due to start arriving in Sydney from Tuesday night on Qantas, Virgin, Qatar and Emirates flights.

The federal government has now ceased flights for Australians in Israel because of a lack of immediate need, Marles said on Tuesday. Of the 194 people on two flights organised by the government from Tel Aviv on Monday, 96 were from other Pacific nations that Australia has agreed to help return home.

“There were empty seats again on the planes last night. They were slightly more full than the night before,” Marles said. The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 1300 Israelis and 2800 Palestinians since Hamas launched its October 7 assault on southern Israel.

with Mike Foley

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.