{"id":2143,"date":"2026-10-04T17:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T12:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2143"},"modified":"2026-10-04T17:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T12:04:16","slug":"three-years-on-gazans-stranded-abroad-wait-for-chance-to-return-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2143","title":{"rendered":"Three years on, Gazans stranded abroad wait for chance to return home"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Omar Al Hassayna fled Gaza for Cairo after an Israeli air strike<\/a> wiped out much of his large family. Three years on, he \u200bremains there waiting for enough stability, security and reconstruction in his still devastated homeland to return.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hassayna is one of more \u200cthan 100,000 Gazans who left the enclave during the war and who remain stranded overseas, according to Palestinian Authority figures.<\/p>\n

They still mourn dead relatives and their destroyed homes<\/a> and neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left Gaza and came to Egypt, the land of Kinana (referring to Egypt), but at the \u200bsame time, this will not be forgotten, my dear brother, it will not be forgotten,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am waiting for the opportunity, \u200bI am waiting for the moment when Gaza becomes stable so I can return to my country, and be \u2060a productive member of this country, and be a positive force for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly a year after a ceasefire in Gaza that was meant \u200bto start a process of reconstruction under a technocratic government along with a political process that would lead to an eventual full Israeli withdrawal, little \u200bhas changed.<\/p>\n

Israeli forces still hold more than 60% of the territory and conduct almost daily air strikes, while Hamas controls the area where Palestinians live, mostly in temporary shelters with what aid agencies call inadequate aid supplies and no prospect of reconstruction soon.<\/p>\n

Some 308 members of Hassayna\u2019s extended family<\/a> were killed when Israeli strikes destroyed a cluster of \u200bGaza City apartment buildings where they had gathered for shelter on November 22, 2023, according to Palestinian authorities.<\/p>\n

Among those killed were his wife, four \u200bof their adult sons and four small grandchildren, including an infant only a few months old.<\/p>\n

Hassayna\u2019s oldest son Mohammed is also in Cairo along with his own four \u200cchildren, as \u2060is the widow of one of his dead sons with her daughter. He has brothers in the Egyptian capital too.<\/p>\n

One daughter was medically evacuated to Turkey with her husband and six children, and another daughter remains in Gaza with her five children, although her husband was killed in the attack.<\/p>\n

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the details of the November 22 strike.<\/p>\n

<\/a>About 7,000 \u2060Palestinians return to Gaza<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In August, Hassayna watched on video from Cairo as relatives buried 112 family members, including his wife, sons and grandchildren, whose bodies had been recovered from the rubble, with dozens still missing.<\/p>\n

Hassayna owned a \u200bbusiness selling tools for firefighting and safety equipment in Gaza, and some of his goods survived the \u200bwar.<\/p>\n

He periodically sells \u2060some to fund his stay in Cairo, where he has remarried.<\/p>\n

All those who left Gaza were vetted before their departure by both Israel and Egypt, but many have found it hard to return to the territory.<\/p>\n

Although radical Israeli politicians have urged a policy of encouraging all of Gaza\u2019s population to leave and to prevent \u2060those who \u200bleft from returning, about 7,000 have gone home.<\/p>\n

Hassayna believes Egypt will stop any widespread \u200bdisplacement of Palestinians from Gaza.<\/p>\n

However, no widespread return of those who fled Gaza may be likely until the territory\u2019s prospects are clearer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Gaza returns. If there is an international agreement (with) a \u200bcomprehensive situation for the Palestinian people and construction begins, why would I delay?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Omar Al Hassayna fled Gaza for Cairo after an Israeli air strike wiped out much of his large family. Three years on, he \u200bremains there waiting for enough stability, security and reconstruction in his still devastated homeland to return. Hassayna is one of more \u200cthan 100,000 Gazans who left the enclave during the war and who remain stranded overseas, according to Palestinian Authority figures. They still mourn dead relatives and their destroyed homes and neighbourhoods. \u201cI left Gaza and came to Egypt, the land of Kinana (referring to Egypt), but…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2143\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}