MEPs urge Belgium to evacuate visa-holders trapped in Gaza

Heavy rain flooded tens of thousands of tents sheltering displaced families in Gaza over the weekend, leaving many homeless again. Reports said four children were killed and another half a million people were left without shelter.

In a letter sent on Wednesday, 4 November, the MEPs called on the Belgian president and foreign minister, as well as EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib, to coordinate the evacuation. The signatories belong to the Left, Greens/EFA and Renew Europe groups, alongside one non-attached member.

Among those still in Gaza is Bardees Abu Kweik, who told EUobserver that she and others with valid Belgian visas had received neither an evacuation appointment nor clear information from the Belgian government. Abu Kweik and her two children have been waiting to join her husband in Belgium since her visa was accepted in February.

One child, aged 12, needs medical care after being injured in the war. Abu Kweik said recent rain flooded their tent, leaving the family outside, and that her child’s severe leg injury was exposed to cold and rain.

The letter says 1,800 people in Gaza have valid Belgian visas. Ten are students who have places at Belgian universities and student visas. They have not received assistance to leave, despite parliamentary debates over the issue and two months of the semester having passed.