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He just wanted to visit his family in the Gaza Strip for a few days. But when they met again, Ibrahim Al-Qarnaoui, 77, found himself in the middle of a war: Hamas controls the area and Israel could launch a ground offensive at any moment. Leaving Gaza is more difficult than expected.
The Swiss passport doesn’t help either. “The embassy told us on Saturday to come to the Rafah border crossing,” the dual citizen told the AFP news agency. Rafah is the only border crossing controlled not by Israel but by Egypt. A US government official spoke of an agreement between Egypt and Israel to allow foreigners from the Gaza Strip to leave the Rafah crossing.
“The border crossing did not open”
However, Egypt imposed conditions: the Arab country refuses to open the border crossing only for the departure of foreigners, as Egyptian media with good contacts with the secret service reported, citing high-placed sources. Egypt’s position is clear: it demands the import of aid into the Gaza Strip.
The hoped-for rescue therefore failed to materialize. “The border crossing did not open,” Al-Qarnaoui reports. Because Israel continues to shell the Gaza Strip, he did not return to his family for the time being. They only live about 40 minutes by car further north, but since the air raids no taxis dare to take to the streets.
“This war is different”
In the meantime, the 77-year-old found someone who could offer him shelter: “We all slept on the floor, it was bitterly cold.” Then one of the residents of the house took him back to the border crossing on Monday morning. “Half an hour later we heard that their house had just been bombed.”
It is not the first time that the Swiss has been surprised by a war during his holiday: he had already experienced the war firsthand in 2008. ‘But that was different. This time it is a genocidal war,” Al-Qarnaoui said. If he cannot leave the war zone, he wants to return to his family. “We can all live together or die together.” (jl/AFP)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
