An Oldham MP has shared her happiness and has again called for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ after a couple separated by the Gaza conflict were reunited.
Glodwick resident Afshan Abubakar and her husband Hani Abualqaraya reunited on Thursday, February 29 after months of uncertainty.
In October, weeks after the war broke out in Gaza, mum-of-three Afshan Abubakar described feeling helpless as Hani became stuck in the region.
Later that same month, Hani, who lived in Gaza City, had his visa application approved to join his wife in the UK. However, he was still unable to leave the region due to the war – eventually being forced south due to the fighting.
Afshan said delays in getting her husband out of Gaza have left her feeling in ‘constant fear’ and ‘psychologically damaged’, with her trust in the UK government damaged following delays and unclear procedures related to his evacuation.
@theoldhamtimes An Oldham woman has reunited with her fiancé after spending months trying to get him out of war-torn Gaza to safety in the UK. The pair shared a tearful embrace at Manchester Airport’s arrivals lounge on Friday, February 29, with Hani’s arm in a sling due to his injuries. Afshan and Hani thanked Mohammed Imran Ali, also known as Irish Immy, for his assistance in getting Hani to the UK. Immy, who accompanied Hani on a business class flight from Cairo to Manchester after reading The Oldham Times’ coverage, also paid for Hani’s hotel, food, and even new clothing. Read more on The Oldham Times.
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Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams repeatedly tried to offer assistance to the couple – even bringing their case directly to the Prime Minister after Hani was attacked by thieves in the region.
However, without Egypt and Israel’s approval, Hani could not be officially evacuated by the UK.
After a benefactor stepped in, Hani is now out of the region and is now in Oldham.
Upon hearing the news, Ms Abrahams said: “I am so pleased that Afshan and Hani have been reunited after months of agonising waits.
“Advocacy for constituents is an important part of an MP’s work and I am pleased that my team and I are able to help many of my Oldham and Saddleworth constituents every week.
“I will continue my work in Parliament and behind the scenes to demand for an immediate ceasefire. The ICJ ruling on Gaza must be observed.”
According to Gaza’s health ministry, part of the Hamas-run government in the region, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, with another 70,000 wounded.
The ministry’s counts from previous wars have largely matched those of the UN, independent experts, and even Israel’s own tallies, the PA news agency reports.
The conflict broke out after Hamas launched an assault on Israel, with gunmen infiltrating Israeli communities near the Gaza strip, killing more than 1,000 and taking more than 200 hostages.
Israel’s government reports more than 3,000 soldiers have been injured since fighting began, with more than 200 killed in battle.
On January 26, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to ‘take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide’ of Palestinians in Gaza, and to enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
One month after the order, on February 26, Amnesty International accused Israel of defying the ruling, saying it had ‘continued to disregard its obligation as the occupying power to ensure the basic needs of Palestinians in Gaza are met’.
At the time, Heba Morayef, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said: “Not only has Israel created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, but it is also displaying a callous indifference to the fate of Gaza’s population by creating conditions which the ICJ has said places them at imminent risk of genocide.
“Time and time again, Israel has failed to take the bare minimum steps humanitarians have desperately pleaded for that are clearly within its power to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
“As the occupying power, under international law, Israel has a clear obligation to ensure the basic needs of Gaza’s population are met.
“Israel has not only woefully failed to provide for Gazans’ basic needs, but it has also been blocking and impeding the passage of sufficient aid into the Gaza Strip, in particular to the north which is virtually inaccessible, in a clear show of contempt for the ICJ ruling and in flagrant violation of its obligation to prevent genocide.
“The scale and gravity of the humanitarian catastrophe caused by Israel’s relentless bombardment, destruction and suffocating siege puts more than two million Palestinians of Gaza at risk of irreparable harm.”
Israel has vowed to continue the war until it destroys Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and returns more than 100 hostages still held by the group.
In a statement on February 29, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would ‘fight until total victory’, with the PM “rejecting the international pressure to end the war before we achieve all of its goals”.
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