Gaza Herald – The Gaza Center for Human Rights has expressed grave concern over Israel’s continued policy of preventing Palestinians from returning to the Gaza Strip, including women, children, elderly people, and patients, warning that the measure represents an escalating attempt to restrict Palestinians’ right to return to their homes and deepen family separation.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the rights group said it had documented a growing number of cases in recent weeks involving Gaza residents who were denied return through Israeli security refusal procedures, despite having registered for return through official channels.
The center explained that Palestinians seeking to return to Gaza are required to register their names through the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo or private coordination companies before their applications are submitted to Israel for security screening and approval. The process can take days or weeks, with many applications ultimately rejected without explanation or any effective legal mechanism to challenge the decisions.
According to the group, the restrictions have left women separated from their husbands and children for months or years, while patients who completed medical treatment abroad remain unable to return home. The center said the policy has caused severe humanitarian and psychological suffering, turning the right to return into a privilege dependent on Israeli approval.
The rights group warned that preventing Palestinians from returning, controlling border crossings, and prolonging family separation form part of broader measures that create conditions pushing Palestinians to remain outside Gaza. It called on the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the international community to ensure the immediate and unconditional return of those stranded abroad and to end the arbitrary restrictions on freedom of movement.
The center stressed that the right to return, freedom of movement, and family unity are fundamental rights protected under international law, warning that policies aimed at preventing Palestinians from returning to Gaza risk contributing to forced displacement and demographic changes in the occupied Palestinian territory.
