Displaced Palestinians carry their belongings on the roof of their vehicle on arrival at Khan Younès in the southern Gaza Strip, May 9, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
Lebanon is trying to repatriate around thirty Lebanese women and their children, born to Palestinian fathers and stranded in Gaza since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.
In a bid to break the deadlock, Lebanese diplomats asked Qatar to act as an intermediary with Israel, during a meeting on Thursday between caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and the Qatari ambassador to Lebanon, Saoud ben Abdel Rahman al-Thani. “We asked Qatar to help us get Lebanese women and their families out through the Rafah crossing. Despite our efforts, they are still stuck in Gaza, since the beginning of the conflict," said Bou Habib after his meeting with the Qatari ambassador.
According to information provided to L'Orient-Le Jour by a source at the ministry, who asked not to be identified, Beirut previously tried to resort to French mediation, without success.
'Force majeure'
“Some thirty Lebanese women married to Palestinians and their children, making a total of around one hundred people, have been stranded in Gaza since the start of the war on Oct. 7. These women contacted the Lebanese embassy in Egypt, which in turn alerted Beirut," explained this source. The women and their children are attempting to flee the besieged enclave to the Lebanese capital via the Rafah border crossing, “but Israel has not yet given its consent.” The Foreign Ministry is not aware of any other Lebanese nationals stranded in Gaza. “We have only been contacted by these people,” assured the above-mentioned source.
When questioned by our publication, a representative of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee said he was not aware of the details of this case. The International Committee of the Red Cross was not available for comment.
Repatriation does not appear to include Palestinian spouses, but only children who are Palestinian, as Lebanese women do not have the right to pass on their nationality to their children. Children born to a foreign father and a Lebanese mother can obtain residence permits from the Lebanese General Security and certain facilities but are not allowed to apply for nationality.
Asked about this, the source at the Foreign Ministry stressed that General Security has already been warned and promised to cooperate in facilitating the entry of these women and their children into Lebanon. “This is a case of force majeure and a humanitarian issue. We hope that Qatar will be able to help us, and we are ready to knock on any door,” insisted the source.
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour to confirm this information and to find out whether the husbands of these Lebanese women could also be repatriated, a General Security spokesperson was not available for comment.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.
