War in Gaza keeps couples and families apart: two stories from Egypt
Since the Gaza war began in October 2023, some Palestinians have reached Egypt while relatives remain in Gaza. Two of them describe life apart from a husband and a fiancee.
The war in the Gaza Strip, which began with the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, has kept Palestinian families and couples apart for years. Some people left for Egypt for medical treatment or safety, while their loved ones stayed in Gaza. The British newspaper The Guardian has recounted the experiences of two such people.
A mother with eight children
Wijdan Abu Matar, 43, left Gaza in November 2023 with her eight children so they could receive treatment. Her husband Hatem, who was also injured, stayed behind. The family had been living in the Nuseirat refugee camp when, on 17 October, an Israeli strike hit the nearby al-Muhandseen tower. Every family member was wounded. Her 15-year-old daughter Nour suffered a fractured skull and bleeding in the brain, and five-year-old Amna had severe burns to her chest.
In Egypt, Wijdan eventually gathered her children in one apartment, but she is still apart from her husband. Hatem has a serious leg injury and lives in a tent in Nuseirat. Gaza's unreliable internet makes calls difficult. The family has no regular income and relies on donations, and Wijdan cannot afford transport to school for five of her children. She has lost 35 family members in the war.
A photojournalist and his fiancee
Sami Abu Tabaq, a 29-year-old Palestinian photojournalist, left Gaza in April 2024, leaving behind his family and his fiancee, Ola. The couple had become engaged five months before the war, and their wedding was planned for November 2023. Their future home and Sami's family house were destroyed. Ola could not reach southern Gaza to cross the Rafah border with him and remains in Gaza. She completed a bachelor's degree in nursing and is now applying for scholarships abroad, hoping this might offer a route out.
According to Gaza's health ministry, at least 73,783 Palestinians have been killed and 174,738 wounded in the war. The Hamas attack on Israel killed 1,200 people.
