Syrian refugee Waad al-Sindi has become a symbol of double displacement: fleeing the war in Syria, she reached the Gaza Strip from Egypt through border tunnels. She dreamed of stability and a new life with her husband and children, but instead found herself and her family at the heart of a brutal war and famine.
She says she entered Gaza hoping for a new life, but war soon broke out—a war she calls genocide. “Unfortunately, we went from one war into another, and this one turned out to be far worse than the one we experienced in Syria,” Waad says. As the war expanded and food shortages intensified, the family faced unbearable conditions. Her husband went to aid distribution points to obtain some flour for the children, promising to return with food. He never came back: after a long search and a night of waiting by the roads, his body was found in the refrigerators of the Nasser Medical Complex. “A man lost his entire life over a sack of flour... My husband was everything to me,” she says bitterly.
Comparing life during the war in Syria with what is happening in Gaza, Waad emphasizes that the events in the Strip surpass any previous experience. According to her, Gaza has lost the most basic conditions for human life. She recalls horrifying scenes during forced displacement under shelling and gunfire from the al-Sultan area in Rafah: an elderly man who could no longer go on under fire told his son, “My son, leave me and keep going.” The Syrian woman concluded her testimony by expressing hope that the war would end and that she would be able to leave Gaza and see her family. She dreams of a normal life for her children—without tents or trips to fetch water—and demands that they be guaranteed the basic right to education and a dignified life, like all the children of the world.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, 74,228 people have been killed and another 175,188 wounded during three years of Israeli aggression in the Strip. Since the ceasefire agreement of October 11 last year, the ministry says, more than 1,445 people have been killed and more than 5,000 Palestinians wounded.
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What were the main causes and stages of the Syrian war that forced millions of Syrians, including Waad al-Sindi, to seek refuge in Egypt, and what was their legal status there? — Causes: the Assad regime’s repression of peaceful protests in 2011; the conflict’s transformation into a civil war; intervention by external powers; the rise of Islamist groups, including ISIS; chemical attacks; sieges of cities; and economic collapse. Stages: 2011—protests and a violent response; 2012–2013—militarization and the fragmentation of the opposition; 2014–2015—the expansion of ISIS and the beginning of coalition airstrikes; 2015–2018—Russia’s intervention and Assad’s recapture of territory; 2019–2020s—Idlib, Turkish operations, a humanitarian crisis, and a frozen conflict. Millions of Syrians fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. Egypt attracted refugees because of its relative stability, historical ties, and initially more accessible entry requirements. Legal status: after 2011, Egypt gradually tightened its rules—from visa-free entry to visas and residence permits. Many Syrians remain without legal status; they are registered with UNHCR but do not have permanent residency, face restrictions on employment and access to services, and risk detention and deportation. Waad al-Sindi is one example of a Syrian refugee who ended up in Egypt because of this conflict.
What are the border tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, how did they emerge, and why did civilians—including Syrian refugees—use them to enter Gaza? — They are a network of underground passages beneath the Egypt–Gaza border, primarily along the Philadelphia Corridor near Rafah. They emerged as smuggling routes but expanded sharply after 2007, when Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza following Hamas’s takeover. The tunnels were used to deliver goods, fuel, construction materials, and weapons, as well as to transport people, since the official Rafah crossing was often closed or subject to strict restrictions. Civilians, including some Syrian refugees—especially Palestinians from Syria or people with family ties in Gaza—used the tunnels as an illegal alternative when legal entry into Gaza through Egypt was impossible. However, the route was dangerous and illegal; after 2013, Egypt intensified its campaign against the tunnels and destroyed most of them, so this route largely ceased to operate.
Full version: Syrian woman sought refuge in Gaza from the war, only for her husband to return in pieces... What happened?