As the devastation in Gaza continues, Palestinian families in Britain are racing against the clock to try to bring our loved ones to safety. News finally came of a successful family reunification – but instead of being able to feel a moment of relief for this one family, we’ve had to face a vicious political and media backlash.
The UK media, government and even the prime minister have fixated on a “loophole” that allowed a mother, father and four children from Gaza to be granted the right to live in the UK via the Ukraine family scheme. It obscures the reality that there is no Gaza family reunification scheme, forcing Palestinians to navigate an immigration system that offers no clear pathway to safety.
Here are the facts: the legal team representing the family did not argue for their entry under the Ukrainian scheme, but simply used that form as a vehicle to submit a human rights application because no dedicated form exists for Palestinians. The court ruled in the family’s favour under article 8 of the European convention on human rights, which protects the right to family life. The judge made it explicitly clear that the Ukrainian scheme was irrelevant to the case, yet Keir Starmer has chosen to pledge to “close the loophole” while the media vilify the family’s success, using inflammatory language such as “opening the floodgates” to justify inhumane policies.
For me, a Palestinian from Gaza, this is not just an abstract policy debate – it is deeply personal. My mother, father and three siblings, after enduring six months of genocide and being displaced more than five times, managed to evacuate to Egypt. Their home in Gaza was bombed, and they survived starvation and constant terror. They have no family or legal status in Egypt, and they have a right to be here with their family after everything they have endured. And so for months I have fought through a hostile UK system, desperately trying to secure a way to bring them to safety.
Yet rather than recognising its moral and legal obligation to establish safe pathways for Palestinian families to be reunited, the government has chosen to manufacture outrage over a legal ruling that reaffirmed a fundamental human right. This decision should have been a catalyst for action, prompting the UK to introduce a formal Gaza family reunification scheme for families such as mine. Instead, the government seeks to shut down any possibility of reuniting in safety, fuelling anti-Palestinian sentiment and legitimising further inhumane policies. We want our families to be safe, and we are met with closed doors.
The Gaza Families Reunited campaign, alongside 350 families in the UK, has been tirelessly advocating for an immediate family reunification scheme. But the government’s refusal to act leaves families in limbo, suffering through endless legal and bureaucratic hurdles just to be with their loved ones.
The contrast between the UK’s response to Ukrainian refugees and its treatment of Palestinians could not be more glaring. After Russia’s invasion, the UK swiftly created a structured scheme for Ukrainian families. In comparison, Palestinians – who have endured 15 months of genocide, starvation and mass displacement – are left without any dedicated family reunification pathway.
This is not about seeking refuge out of choice, but the fundamental right to family unity. Despite what is stipulated in article 8 of the European convention on human rights, Palestinians are forced to fight legal battles just to be together. The legal process is already prolonged and complex, and many families are unable to secure legal representation to even begin applications.
Family reunification is about more than just immediate survival – it is about dignity, healing and justice. We, the Gaza Families Reunited campaign, are not seeking permanent resettlement in the UK. We only want to be with our families while they are unable to return to Gaza.
Israel’s systematic and forced displacement of Palestinians – whether through military aggression, starvation or forced exile – is a clear breach of international law. The UK cannot claim to uphold international law while simultaneously denying Palestinians the right to safety and family unity.
Palestinian families in the UK have watched helplessly as their loved ones in Gaza experience relentless bombings, starvation and forced displacement. They have the right to be reunited, to heal, and to find safety together until it is safe to return home.
Ghassan Ghaben is a member of the Gaza Families Reunited campaign
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