Palestinian Families Urge Belgium to Evacuate Stranded Gaza Relatives

Palestinian families residing in Belgium have requested an urgent meeting with Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot to secure the evacuation of between 1,500 and 1,800 relatives currently stranded in Gaza. These individuals hold Belgian visas but remain trapped as severe weather, including heavy rains and strong winds, floods shelters and destroys belongings, compounding the humanitarian crisis caused by Israeli attacks on infrastructure.

Maxime Prevot previously proposed a priority evacuation plan for 320 Palestinians, but the initiative stalled due to disagreements within the Belgian coalition government. The deadlock specifically concerns the admission of 13 individuals holding Belgian student visas.

Ismail El Najjar, representing the families, noted that relatives have received no concrete information from the federal government regarding transportation to Belgium. El Najjar described the situation as dire, stating that "the cold is deadly, but fear and uncertainty are as devastating as bullets."