When the only escape from the war in Gaza is to buy a way out

The only way for almost all Gazans to escape the horrors of the war between Israel and Hamas is to leave via neighboring Egypt.

This is usually a complex and expensive ordeal, involving the payment of thousands of dollars to an Egyptian company that can get Palestinians on an approved travel list to cross the border.

Faced with the company’s exorbitant fees, as well as widespread hunger in Gaza where there is no end in sight to the Israeli military campaign, many Palestinians have resorted to trying to raise money through desperate appeals on digital platforms such as GoFundMe.

Dr. Salem Ghaida, a pediatrician in northern Scotland, posted one such appeal in January after his sister sent a text message from Gaza to say their father was suffering from epileptic seizures.

Their father arrived at the hospital and survived, but Dr. Ghaida (52 years old), who left Gaza in 2003, said that the incident convinced him of the necessity of evacuating his family at any cost.

“I thought I would go to sleep one night and wake up to the news that my family was gone,” he said. “I felt helpless and hopeless, but I knew I had to do something.”

Complex process

Diab Al-Louh, the Palestinian ambassador to Egypt, said in an interview that over the past eight months, an estimated 100,000 people have left Gaza. Although some have been able to exit through contacts with foreign organizations or governments, for many Gazans, exit from the Strip is only possible through Hala, a company that appears to be closely linked to the Egyptian government.

Now the future of this road is uncertain, especially after the Israeli army launched an offensive against Hamas in Rafah and seized the crossing there, leading to its closure in May. No Gazans have been allowed to pass through it since then, and it is not clear when it will reopen.

The New York Times spoke with dozens of people inside and outside Gaza who were either trying to leave the Strip or helping family members or friends do so. All except one spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fears of retaliation by the Egyptian authorities against them or their relatives or friends.

There are other routes out of Gaza, but many of them require large sums of money as well. One way is to pay informal intermediaries in the Strip or in Egypt, who demand between $8,000 and $15,000 per person in exchange for arranging their departure within days, according to four Palestinians who have either paid or tried to do so.

Palestinians associated with international organizations and governments, holders of foreign passports or visas, the wounded, and some students enrolled in universities outside Gaza are able to leave without paying large fees, but most of the Strip’s population of more than two million do not fall into those categories.

Hala charges $5,000 to coordinate the discharge of most people aged 16 and over, and $2,500 for most people under that age, according to seven people who have gone through the process or tried to do so.

Hala officials did not respond to emailed questions. but Ibrahim Al-Organy, whose company, Organi Group, lists Hala as one of its companies and who describes himself as a shareholder, disputed that the company charged these amounts, insisting that children traveled for free and adults paid $2,500. He said that this amount is necessary because the service provided by Hala is a “VIP” service, and he said that operating costs rose significantly during the war.

Orjani, a businessman with a history of helping the Egyptian government fight extremists in the Sinai Peninsula, maintains close ties with senior Egyptian officials, according to three people who have followed the relationship and spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their work in Egypt. region. He denied that he benefited unfairly from his connections.

A man living in a tent on the beach in Deir al-Balah, a city in the central Gaza Strip, said he felt as if he was dealing with war profiteers because he was under financial pressure during the most vulnerable period of his life.

He felt he had no choice but to register with Hala. The 48-year-old has to raise money for his wife and seven children, some of whom have to pay adult fare for the trip. He said that means he needs $37,500, but he’s only been able to raise $7,330 on GoFundMe so far.

“What is the alternative? There is nothing,” he said.

Do you offer “VIP” service?

Hala makes people go through a complicated bureaucratic process to register their loved ones. The company requires a family member to visit its offices in Cairo and pay for the service through $100 bills issued in 2013 or later, according to Dr. Ghaida and three other people familiar with Hala’s payment process. Organi denied knowledge of the practice and said those who paid $100 bills were defrauded by illegal brokers.

In February, when Dr. Ghaida traveled to the Egyptian capital to register his parents, sister, and nephew, he brought his 23-year-old son with him to avoid carrying more than $10,000 himself. By then, he had raised about $25,000.

“The whole process was time-consuming, complex and uncertain,” he said.

In an interview in his Cairo office, Mr. Organi spoke at length and in detail about Hala’s activities, although he said that his role in the company was limited and that he was just one of many shareholders. Hala has long been listed on the Organi Group’s website as one of the group’s companies, but the reference appears to have been removed recently. Organi Group did not respond to a request for comment when asked why Hala was removed from its website.

Mr. Organi described Hala as a tourism company, “just like any company at the airport,” and said it was established in 2017 to provide VIP services to Palestinian travelers who wanted a transit experience through Rafah.

“I just help them when they want to enter the VIP lounge, have breakfast, move to Cairo in a beautiful BMW, have a break, and then go to their destination,” he said. “Our role is to provide the best service possible, that’s all.”

Many Palestinians who used Hala’s service during the war said they did not get VIP service: they were taken to Cairo in a minibus and given basic food.

Orjani said that the increased wartime demand for services such as the flight from Rafah to Cairo forced the company to raise its prices.

He spoke in an office where a large photo of himself with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was displayed on one wall. When asked about Hala’s ties to the Egyptian government and accusations that Hala benefits from lucrative contracts, he insisted that he was being vilified by media outlets linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, the political Islamist group that briefly held Egypt’s presidency more than a decade ago until the revolution. The Egyptian army, led by Mr Sisi, has seized power.

On an April visit to the stained-glass high-rise in downtown Cairo that houses Hala’s offices, 40 people lined up outside with stacks of photocopied documents and wads of cash in their hands.

Those gathered were talking loudly about exchange rates in Palestinian Arabic as they waited for two Egyptian Hala employees to be allowed into the building, while cars and taxis dropped off more customers nearby.

When the Egyptian government was asked about the accusations against Egypt mentioned in this story, it referred The Times to Previous comments Made by Egyptian officials, including Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Shoukry told Sky News in February that he did not condone Hala charging a $5,000 fee, and said Egypt would take action to cancel the fees. The Egyptian government did not respond to a request for comment on its relationship with Hala.

The Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, a body affiliated with the Israeli Ministry of Defense that implements government policy in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, declined to comment on the role Israel plays in the movement of Palestinians through the Rafah crossing. Israel facilitated the exit of foreigners and dual nationals from Gaza in coordination with Egypt and the United States, according to the website of the Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories.

Israel has not allowed almost any Gazan resident to seek refuge in its territory or travel through it to reach other places.

A bittersweet reunion

In a statement issued in mid-May, GoFundMe said that more than $150 million had been donated to raise funds related to the war in Gaza, and that about 19,000 campaigns had been created on its platform, including evacuations, medical care and food.

Contributors include friends, relatives and their social networks, but also strangers who do not have direct connections to those promoting the fundraiser.

A 30-year-old Palestinian man, who was living in a small tent in Rafah, said he made the decision to leave in January. He could no longer tolerate the unsanitary conditions. To shower, he had to heat water on a makeshift wood stove, transfer it to a plastic bucket, and then carry it to a filthy room that contained only a toilet. Using a bottle, he poured water over his body, as if he was taking a shower, a process he described as completely inhumane.

He also turned to a GoFundMe campaign. His family raised more than $55,000 to pay for 12 people to move out. A month ago, he and his family arrived in Egypt.

In April, pediatrician Ghaida traveled to Egypt for the second time, this time to meet his parents, sister and nephew, who had just left Gaza at the time of Eid al-Fitr.

He was overwhelmed with joy, but he still felt an enormous burden – 28 of his relatives remained trapped in Rafah and Gaza City, and his parents would need to start a new life in Cairo, at least until the war ended. (In May, he succeeded in securing the release of four other family members.)

“It’s bittersweet,” he said. “It meant the world to me to see my parents, sister and nephew. But I still struggle with constant fears about my family who are still in Gaza. I will not be able to feel like I can breathe normally again until I know they are safe.”

Imad Makki And Vivian Yee Contributed to reports.