By Benjamin Williams
Impunity Watch Middle East Desk Reporter  

GAZA, Palestine — In the wake of the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel, thousands of Palestinians are fleeing the Gaza Strip. Refugees are risking the perils of the Mediterranean Sea in an effort to begin a new life in Europe. Sources stated that news of the peril suffered by the fleeing Palestinians “has raised alarm among Gazan families awaiting word that their loved ones had arrived safely.”

This year has seen an estimated 10,000 Palestinians flee the country, with a swell in numbers since the conflict began in July. With the Israeli offensive, known as “Operation Protective Edge,” killing more than 2,000 mostly civilian Palestinians, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents, and destroying much of Gaza’s infrastructure, it comes as no surprise that residents would seek refuge elsewhere. Migrants looking for a fresh start are subjected to not only the elements, but human traffickers, as well.

One such boat bound for the Egyptian coast was filled with upwards of 500 men, women, and children. Among the dead were Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians, and Sudanese. Two survivors, after days clinging to flotation aids, were recovered from the wreckage after human traffickers intentionally sunk their ship when migrants refused to move to a smaller vessel. One survivor said, “After they hit our boat, they waited to make sure that it had sunk completely before leaving. They were laughing.” The two Palestinian men rescued stated as many as 100 children were on board when the boat went down.

Gazan residents have increasingly turned to smugglers to get across the Egyptian border. With tight border regulations making the journey extremely difficult, refugees have resorted to paying about $4,000 per person. The fee allows an individual to be smuggled into Egypt though an underground tunnel and on to Europe on a raft. However, even if residents can afford the trip, they will encounter criminals and treacherous conditions along the way.

Hundreds of families have lost contact with their loved ones making the dangerous trek to a new life. One man learned of the death of his son from a survivor who had seen him on a ship that sank on September 10th. Khalil Abu Shammal, director of Gaza’s Ad-Dameer Association for Human Rights, said, “The number of people with whom families in Gaza have lost contact is around 400. Measures are required to stop such travel towards death and the unknown.” “The risks [residents] take reflect their desperation and we cannot keep abandoning them to their fate,” stated the International Organization for Migration director general William Lacy Swing.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera America – Palestinian migrants fleeing Gaza Strip drown in Mediterranean Sea – 22 September 2014

CNN – “Laughing” traffickers ram boat full of migrants and kill 500, survivors say – 22 September 2014

Oman Daily Observer – War spurs more Gazans to risk migration to Europe – 22 September 2014