Gaza: family reunifications blocked between Italia, Greece and Spain

A similar situation exists in Greece, where dozens of Palestinian refugees with positive family reunification decisions continue to remain separated from their children and spouses who have remained in the Strip.

For five months, Palestinian resident Santi Baraka did not know if his family was still alive. The house in Khan Younis was completely destroyed. His wife and six children have moved more than twenty times. One of the daughters suffers from chronic asthma, but there are no inhalers or treatment available. The father is confined to a broken wheelchair, in a tent exposed to the elements. Reunification for this family has been approved in Greece, but only on paper: in Gaza, the family cannot leave. "The only thing we ask of the Greek government -- says Baraka -- is to coordinate with the consulate in Cairo to get our families out of Gaza. They have no electricity. There are too many diseases. We love our land, but we want to live with dignity and security. There is no life there for us'.

The knot is similar to that in Italy: the families would have to physically present themselves at the Greek consulate in Cairo, but no one guarantees a safe exit from Gaza or transit to Egypt.

On the European level, in October 2025, the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) sent an open letter to the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola calling for urgent action for children stranded in the Strip despite positive reunification decisions issued by member states. The network emphasised that the failure to implement the decisions may constitute a violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in European law, pointing out that the best interests of the child must be given priority. An initiative also supported by the pan-European organisation Eurochild, which reiterated that family unity is not a political choice but a legal obligation.

In December 2025, 21 MEPs from four political groups submitted a written question to the European Commission on the initiative of The Left Group Vice-President Kostas Arvanitis, asking why the reunification decisions for minors in Gaza are not being implemented. More than two months later, the Commission had still not provided an answer.

According to Eurostat data, in 2023 in the EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein between 5,000 and 7,000 first residence authorisations for family reunification were issued to beneficiaries of international protection of Palestinian nationality; in 2024 the number would rise to between 7,000 and 10,000, with a significant increase after 7 October 2023. The countries with the highest numbers are Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italia. However, there is no European figure on the actual number of reunifications actually completed, i.e. with physical arrival of family members.

In Spain, around 800 Gazans are currently in the country within the international protection system. A significant part arrived through the AMAN project, a programme coordinated by the World Health Organisation together with the Spanish Ministries of Health and Inclusion, aimed at the medical evacuation of minors with serious oncological diseases or injuries that cannot be treated in Gaza. The project involves the exit of the children - together with their families - via Egypt or Jordan and their subsequent transfer to different Spanish autonomous communities. Once landed, the reception is managed by the ACCEM organisation, which is present in almost all regions.

"The first challenge for the families is to move on and build a life as stable as possible, but with their hearts and minds torn apart by what is happening in Palestine," explains Pedro de Santiago, ACCEM's communications manager. 'One day they may feel motivated to stay in Spain, the next day news from Gaza calls everything into question'.

According to ACCEM, many families were separated as soon as they left: the Israeli authorities allegedly authorised the passage of only some members, adding to the trauma. Initially, the arrival was planned for three months, but almost all the families then decided to seek international protection in Spain. 'It is a very difficult decision,' stresses de Santiago, 'because it means leaving behind relatives and, in fact, an entire life. But for children who need medical care or simply stability, Spain has become a refuge'.

The intervention does not only concern hospital care: ACCEM provides accommodation, language mediation, medical accompaniment and, above all, psychological support from day one, both to minors and to their families, who have to deal with the trauma of war and the uncertainty of a possible return.

*This article is part of the European collaborative journalism project "Pulse"