Following the outbreak of war in the Middle East on the 7th October, British nationals in Gaza have largely been stuck. They, and others, were able to move for the first time at the end of October through the Rafah crossing, into Egypt. 

While some Britons have been able to leave through the crossing, there are still many British nationals unable to escape the conflict.

Not all Brits have yet been deemed as eligible to leave. The Palestinian Border Authority released a list of foreign nationals approved to move out of Gaza on the 3rd November. As of 1st November, 200 Britons were believed to be in Gaza – on the 4th November, only 100 of these were listed as eligible. 

This has left families broken up and Britons at risk in the Gaza strip, with many still fighting to leave. Abdalrahman Alharazin, whose pregnant wife and three children were allowed to cross into Egypt, was unable to accompany them due to such restrictions. He had to wait for help on the Egyptian side of the crossing for three days and commented ‘I thought someone would look at us with mercy’.

The UK Foreign Office has stated that the crossing was to be open for ‘controlled and time-limited periods’, but there have been uneven numbers leaving and not all Britons have left yet. Amid this there has been confusion of crossing times and chaos in trying to get British nationals over the border and back to the UK.

The Rafah crossing is currently the only prescribed safe route out of the Gaza strip for foreign nationals and injured Palestinians. Yet the process is slow due to no way of electronically checking ID. Replying on a process of passport inspection means less people pass through the border daily.

The process has potential to be assisted by the White House’s announcement of four-hour pauses to the fighting daily. Since the announcement, tens of thousands of civilians have begun fleeing to the South of the Gaza strip in hope of refuge. It remains unclear how long it may take for all British nationals to flee Gaza and escape the conflict.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has commented that they are ‘diplomatically working with everyone in the region to find ways to move our British nationals out of Gaza and hopefully bring them home’.

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