Fadi Hammad says his family’s experience during the "horrific" events in Gaza last month was one of "pure survival", after the apartment tower they lived in was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.
He, along with his pregnant wife Ghefra Hammad and their four-year-old son, Wissam, managed to flee their unit just two hours before the complex was bombed.
The building collapsed, and Ghefra lost all of her official documents, a bitter blow after she was granted Australian permanent residency in October.
Mr Hammad said this factor has placed “very big obstacles” in the way of the family’s efforts to get out of Gaza.
Fadi Hammad in Sydney, Australia Source: Fadi Hammad
He described the events of that day in early May.
"We started to hear, feel and see the bombing around us. We were very afraid. I told my wife, 'let's go right away to stay at my parents' house in Rafah’.
"We went to the [building] site after that and only found the wreckage and I took a picture of my son standing in the place of the tower we were living in.
I didn't get the chance to come back and take my important papers, my wife's passport, my money, and any of our personal items.
Rafah, their intended place of refuge, was “not safe” as it had also come under attack, Mr Hammad said.
“We didn't know if we were going to survive or not. It was unforgettable, [the] scenes of the victims, of children and women, I couldn't believe what I saw.
"My son has not returned to his normal nature after the scenes of the war. He is in constant fear and terror, and doesn’t stop talking about it."
Mr Hammad said the Australian embassy in Tel Aviv called to check on the family and offered to assist in their efforts to leave Gaza.
He said an embassy official told him that she might be able to assist the family cross into Israel via the Erez checkpoint when the region becomes safer, but that he had to buy new tickets from Jordan, despite having already bought tickets to travel from Egypt to Australia in late June.
"Without my wife's new passport, I will not be able to move anywhere and leave her alone, we are waiting for it to arrive from the West Bank when the postal workers can reach Gaza, the roads are destroyed and the transportation is almost non-existent,” he said.
"I wished that this Australian embassy offer was available before the outbreak of the war when I spoke to them two weeks before."
Fadi Hammad and his son at the site where their building once stood in Gaza. Source: Fadi Hammad
What can Australia do?
The Australian government’s Smartraveller website describes the situation in Gaza as and states that government departments “may not be able to provide consular help” in that region.
Immigration lawyer Eva Abdel Massieh told SBS Arabic24: “When an Australian citizen travels to any country outside Australia, and disasters such as Covid, wars, problems or bans occur, they must apply for assistance from the Australian Embassy or Australian Consulate.
“If there is no [embassy or consulate] in the affected country, they can seek assistance from another embassy of any Commonwealth country, such as Canada and Britain.”
Ms Massieh concedes that this approach is a “broad line”, and there are other factors that affect the provision of assistance to an Australian citizen.
Australia can help any citizen anywhere except if he is in his home destination from which he or she came from.
Ms Massieh explains that it’s vital for citizens to follow the guidelines set by the Australian government before travelling.
“Despite the [Smartraveller] warning, there can be good reasons to travel and the Australian citizen is free to make his or her own decisions, and no one can prevent them from travelling as they wish.
“If the citizen travels to the destination that was warned about, and there is an emergency and needs Australia’s help, we should not blame Australia if help is late. Every sane adult should take responsibility for the decisions they make," she added.
"The big mistake that many members of the community make is that they seek help in Australia from their mother country, and when Australia embraces them and offers them permanent residence and citizenship, they visit the mother country again."
Despite the guidelines, she believes Australia is “obligated to protect and aid its own citizens”.
The spot where the Gaza tower once stood. Source: Fadi Hammad
COVID makes a complex border crossing even tougher
Mr Hammad migrated to Australia in 2002 at the age of 14, along with his mother and nine siblings.
In 2015, he returned to Gaza and met the woman who would later become his wife.
"I went back to visit my two sisters, who did not have the opportunity to visit us in Australia, and I met my soulmate there and got married to her. I stayed with them in Gaza for two years and she gave birth to our first child."
He returned to Sydney in 2017 to lodge the Australian residency papers for his wife and child, with the intention of bringing them over.
In March 2020, he again travelled to Gaza, as he expected to see a result for the residency application, however, his return coincided with the closing of Australia’s international border.
“My mother and brother were with me, and they stayed with us for a month, until the coronavirus pandemic was announced, so the Australian embassy helped them return to Australia, and I decided to stay with my wife and my child until she obtained her residency and we to return to Australia together.”
Despite his wife's successful application in October 2020, travel restrictions meant that the family was unable to enter Australia.
"I didn't mind waiting for return flights to be available, especially since my wife became pregnant with our second child,” Mr Hammad said.
In April 2021, flights to Australia began to reappear, so Mr Hammad contacted the Australian embassy to help the family pass through the Erez crossing into Israel.
The crossing in northern Gaza is controlled by the Israeli army and requires a permit to pass through.
In addition to day-to-day travel, the checkpoint functions as a crossing point to transport sick and injured people for treatment in Jordan, Israel or the West Bank, and also one that diplomats, foreign missions, journalists, workers, Palestinian merchants use to get to and from Gaza.
"The Australian embassy helped my mother and brother cross it last year. I called them and asked them for help, and I told them my son is sick and my wife is pregnant.”
He said an embassy official said the laws had changed from what they were in 2020.
Fadi Hammad's car before and after. Source: Fadi Hammad
"She said it's no longer possible to secure the passage of foreign nationals through this crossing except for emergency cases. She gave me an official's number from the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs department to aid.
“After three days of trying to reach him, he finally responded and said he can’t help me.”
Mr Hammad eventually put the names of his family members on a waiting list to cross into Egypt via Rafah, as advised by the Australian embassy official there, but only two weeks later, hostilities erupted between Gaza and Israel
On reflection, Mr Hammad said he has tasted safety and stability after moving from Gaza to Australia as a teenager, as if he was a child "living in hell" and getting a chance to "live in heaven", Australia.
"I do not feel regret returning to Gaza. I hope we get my wife's passport as soon as possible and cross into Egypt, and we can board our flight from there to Sydney.
"I don't think I'll go back to Gaza again until it’s a completely safe place ... for the safety of my children."
The Australian embassy in Tel Aviv has been contacted for comment on the case. But staff there referred SBS Arabic24 to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Their response is still awaited.
