Gaza Strip – It was a long-awaited family reunion. In October, Reem Rasmi travelled from her home in Egypt to the Gaza Strip to visit her sister’s family after five years. Her nephew was getting married, and it was time to celebrate.
A month later, the 55-year-old is stuck in the besieged enclave, displaced by the war that broke out on October 7 and that has prevented her from being able to return to her husband and children back in Egypt. For Rasmi, an Egyptian national, the dilemma is doubled: Even if she does manage to cross over at the Rafah border, she will need to leave her sister’s family behind, amid unrelenting bombing from Israel.
