Gaza to Europe on jet ski: Palestinian trio's sea journey to escape the war

It took more than a year, several thousand dollars, ingenuity, setbacks and a jet ski: This is how Muhammad Abu Dakha, a 31-year-old Palestinian, managed to escape from Gaza to reach Europe.

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Fleeing the devastation caused by the nearly two-year-old Israel-Hamas war, in which Gaza health authorities say more than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed, Abu Dakha crossed the Rafah border point into Egypt in April 2024, paying $5,000.

He said he initially went to China, where he hoped to win asylum, but returned to Egypt, via Malaysia and Indonesia. He showed Reuters email correspondence with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Representation in China from August and September 2024.

10 failed crossing attempts

Abu Dakha then went to Libya where, according to multiple reports by human rights groups and the UN, tens of thousands of migrants are routinely abused and exploited by traffickers and militias while trying to secure a spot on a boat to Europe.

According to data from Italy's interior ministry, more than 47,000 boat migrants have arrived in the country in the year to date, mostly from Libya and Tunisia. But Abu Dakha made it across in highly unusual circumstances.