More than half of the British nationals seeking to escape Gaza for Egypt have managed to do so, but there are still distressing cases of families being split up, the Foreign Office has confirmed.
It said more than 150 British nationals and families had crossed into Egypt, and that the total number that came forward seeking help to escape was in the low hundreds, a figure that had not changed in recent days.
Government officials refused to discuss individual cases, but that of Ahmed Sabra, a Swansea NHS heart consultant, has led to claims that the Foreign Office is not doing enough to negotiate with Israeli and Egyptian officials in order to prevent families being divided.
With the permission of the Palestinian authorities, Sabra crossed the border into Egypt with his wife and children even though he was not on the official list permitted to leave, unlike the rest of his family.
He was allowed to stay on the Egyptian side of the border for three days before being forced to return to Gaza on a bus on Wednesday, a decision he described as a death sentence.
In a tearful voice message, Sabra begged to be reunited with his family and thanked his former patients and fellow NHS staff for supporting him, adding he was devastated by the loss of life in Gaza.
UK officials do not believe there is any ulterior motive behind the refusal to let him remain with his family, but believe Israel is giving priority to women and children in drawing up its lists.
The Foreign Office was also accused of a whitewash and limpness when it announced the death of another Palestinian doctor who graduated from the UK’s prestigious Chevening scholarship scheme.
Dr Maisara Al Rayyes, 30, was photographed with the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, after meeting him alongside other graduates of the programme two months ago.
He was killed when he was trapped under the rubble of a six-storey apartment building that was razed in Gaza City on Sunday night. He was killed alongside his father, mother and two sisters – one of whom had three small children. No independent confirmation of the deaths of his family are available.
The Foreign Office Chevening programme said on social media that it was devastated to hear about his death, without explaining that he had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. It appears his two brothers have also been killed in subsequent airstrikes while trying to rescue him.
UK officials insist they are lobbying hard with Israeli and Egyptian officials to ensure British nationals are put on the list of those allowed to cross, but they admit they are swimming against a tide because more and more countries are pushing for their nationals to be permitted to leave Gaza.
The Rafah crossing is the only crossing through which people can leave. Israel and Egypt, for slightly different reasons, are metering those that can cross.
