The father of a young family that has escaped war-torn Gaza and returned to Adelaide has thanked everyone who “felt their pain”, and praised the “relentless” efforts of Australian diplomats who secured their safety.
The Adelaide family of four travelled to Gaza so the two children, aged seven and 10, could visit their grandparents and family. It was their first visit to Gaza. They arrived two weeks before the conflict began and, according to their lawyer, have been through hell since then.
The family does not wish to be publicly identified, but were among 25 Australians who managed to escape the besieged enclave into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. The pass was opened as part of a multinational deal to allow foreign national civilians to leave Gaza.
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Australian consular officials met them on the other side and organised accommodation and commercial flights home free of charge from Cairo. Many other families and Australian citizens will return to Australia in coming days.
Shortly after arriving in Adelaide on a Qatar Airways flight, the father thanked Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, as well as the ambassadors to Egypt and Qatar for their support.
“We further want to thank all Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff who were involved in our repatriation process, started three weeks ago,” the father said. “Everyone we met or talked on the phone with was very patient, supportive, compassionate, helpful and attentive.
“We’d like to thank all those who advocated for us over the past few weeks, including our friends, neighbours, community figures, colleagues, ex-colleagues, managers, ex-managers, and indeed every Australian who felt our pain and wanted to see a happy ending to our ordeal.”
Despite the praise and gratitude, the family remained extremely concerned for the lives of their loved ones in Gaza, including their ill and elderly relatives, who have run out of essential medication.
“They may never see their family again. Parting with them prior to crossing the border was distressing and something no family should have to endure,” the family’s lawyer, Alison Battisson, said earlier this week.
Australian officials were providing consular assistance to more than 60 people still in Gaza. The situation in Gaza was deteriorating as the effects of Israel’s blockade of supplies, including water and fuel, worsened.
Humanitarian aid was trickling in but not fast enough, international human rights bodies and the UN have warned.
Battisson said the family “had been through hell like so many other innocents”.
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“Around the world, conflict rages and the people who suffer the most are the civilians, the innocent, the noncombatants, the children,” Battisson said.
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2023-11-04 02:32:21
Source from www.theguardian.com
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