ABNA24 - In the Gaza Strip, Raghda ash‑Sheikh, a mother of three, is living through a compounded tragedy that started when the Israeli genocidal war broke out on October 7, 2023, but continues to unfold today as her family remains divided between Gaza and France.
Her husband Ahmed and their three children, Rabhi (11), Nour (10), and Hussam al‑Din (8), left Gaza at the start of the war with the assistance of the French foreign ministry, in what initially appeared to be an opportunity to escape the relentless bombardment.
According to a report published by Al Jazeera Net journalist Yasser al‑Banna, the mother hoped to reunite with her family soon once her travel procedures were completed. However, that did not happen, leaving her stranded in Gaza while her husband and children remained in France.
As military operations escalated and communications were cut off in Gaza, Raghda lost contact with her family. She was displaced with her relatives to the Nuseirat camp in the center of the Strip, while her husband and children moved south to Khan Yunis.
In December 2023, her father‑in‑law managed to travel to Paris, taking with him his sons and grandchildren, including the three children, and leaving the mother alone in Gaza.
In an unexpected development, on July 15, 2024, French authorities, represented by child protection services, removed the three children from their father and placed them in a care facility, prohibiting their direct contact with the family.
According to the family, the decision was based on an alleged report accusing the father of abusing his children, without medical or school evidence substantiating the claim.
During a court hearing held on March 30, 2026, the children expressed their wish to reunite with their parents, while the family’s lawyers and social services called for enabling the kids to remain in contact with their parents.
The mother says that French authorities have prevented her from having visual contact with her children for nearly a year, restricting communication to written messages, with replies arriving weeks later and lacking sufficient details about their conditions.
She notes that during her last video call with them, she needed an interpreter because their Arabic has weakened, a change that has heightened her concern over the loss of their cultural identity.
Raghda now lives in a shelter in Gaza City after her home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in northern Gaza was bombed and all her belongings were destroyed. She describes the shelter conditions as “uninhabitable,” amid ongoing displacement and instability.
She seeks comfort by holding on to what has remained of her children’s clothes and toys, salvaged from beneath the rubble of her home, along with occasional photos she has received of them.
The mother expresses concern over her children staying in care homes, fearing they may drift away from their faith and culture, or be transferred to another family. She also points to a decline in their school performance due to the lack of direct family supervision.
She raises persistent questions about their daily lives: Who looks after them? Who takes them to school? Who provides them with emotional support and a sense of security?
Raghda calls for being allowed to leave Gaza to join her family in France, or for her children to be returned to her.
She rejects the accusations leveled against her husband, affirming that he is a devoted and loving father who always cared deeply for their children and ensured they lived a normal life before the war.
She has appealed to all who can help, urging them to intervene to end her suffering and reunite her with her family.
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