On October 8, Eman Radwan called her parents from the West Bank and spoke to them for the last time. They were in Gaza where Israel had launched a relentless bombardment following Hamas’s deadly attack on Israeli villages and military outposts the day before.
For years, Radwan had been unable to visit her parents regularly because Israel restricted Palestinians from moving between the West Bank and Gaza, with rare exceptions.
Israel was ordering all Palestinians in Gaza to flee south, but Radwan’s parents could not leave their home. They were living in Gaza City, near the Islamic University which Israel targeted with air raids on October 11.
Many Palestinians who have been separated from loved ones in Gaza as a result of Israel’s occupation are terrified that their relatives will die.
| Palestinian families | Palestinian families | Palestinian families |
|---|---|---|
Dying to see family
Palestinians in the West Bank can barely visit family in Gaza, now they fear loved ones will die before they see them.
Until October 7, Palestinians could typically only see relatives from Gaza if they were granted permission to seek medical treatment in the West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem or Israel, according to Munir Nuseibeh, a Palestinian human rights lawyer and civil society activist.
