A tearful British woman whose fiancée is stuck in Gaza ‘feels dead’ inside - as Israeli tanks sweep into the strip ahead of a major ground offensive.
Afshan Abubakar, 42, said her partner Hani Abualqaraya, 28, was struggling to stay alive amid Israel's bombardment - after the country was attacked on October 7.
And she pleaded for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call for a ceasefire, saying: “We need to de-escalate the war and talk about peace and stability”.
The charity worker had submitted a visa application for Hani to move to the UK just two weeks before Hamas launched its terrorist attack on South-West Israel.
And after militants slaughtered 1,400 people and took hundreds of hostages, he was trapped with millions of other civilians in the Palestinian enclave.
Israel has since implemented a total blockade of Gaza - cutting off water, food and fuel supplies as negotiations to release captives continue.
But mum-of-three Afshan says Hani has been struggling to find anything to eat or drink as conditions grow ever more perilous for ordinary people.
She said: “I know it’s extreme, but I feel dead inside. I feel helpless. I’ve been watching the news like crazy.
“They can’t find water, it’s hard to even find bread. They have to go out and really look.
“When I call him, first I ask him ‘Are you OK?’, then I ask him ‘Did you find water yet?’ and ‘Did you have something to eat?’
“I remember a day or so ago he lied to me, I could tell he was lying because when your mouth is really dry you can’t talk properly. I could not understand what he was saying.
“I could tell he was lying when he said he had hummus. He said: ‘I had hummus and water’.
She added: “Ya allah, he’s doing his best to survive, for the sake of me.
“I said to him, 'Until your last breath, I will do my best to get you here, and until your last breath, do your best to survive'.
“They can’t sleep, they cannot sleep. If they sleep, a bomb falls, they’re dead.”
Afshan, from Oldham, Grtr Manchester, said she met Hani online before they saw each other in person in Egypt last year, where they got engaged.
She had divorced her previous husband and said she “never thought” she’d find a new partner who she’d want to spend the rest of her life with.
And while Afshan and Hani consider themselves Islamically married, this isn’t recognised by the UK government - meaning they needed to apply for a fiancée visa.
The couple submitted the application on September 20, but two and a half weeks later, Hamas forces launched a sickening terrorist attack on Israel.
She said Hani had sought shelter at a United Nations-run health centre near Jabalya, central Gaza, after his flat was bombed by fighter jets.
And she said though leaflets had been dropped by Israeli planes telling civilians to move South to avoid the fighting, many like Hani feel they have no choice but to stay.
She said: “They’re getting leaflets thrown from the air to say you need to move to south Gaza, but it’s still not safe to travel, because you’re still getting shot at, you’re still getting bombed.
“He saw the leaflets fall and he was crying. He said: ‘They’re telling us to go, where do we go? I don’t know where to go.’
“They’re going to die there anyway. If they move to the south of Gaza, what’s there? What facilities do they have?”
Afshan says she’s been dismayed by Rishi Sunak’s comments on the state of the war so far and feels those trapped in Gaza are not being listened to.
She added: “All of Gaza City is gone. People have lost hope, they’re scared.
"They’re waiting to die; they’re waiting for their turn. These people are petrified, there’s no humanity.
“I’m disheartened by Rishi Sunak.
"I thought ‘He’s an Asian Prime Minister’, I was happy at first thinking he’d have a better understanding of discrimination and prejudice."
