A man living in Glasgow has said his sister-in-law, who died of cancer in Gaza, would still be alive if the UK Home Office had approved a visa application to bring her and other family members to Britain.
Anwar, who fled Gaza in 2020 and was granted refugee status in the UK in 2021, said he submitted an application in October 2025 seeking to bring his brother Hassan, Hassan’s wife Maryam, their two young children and additional relatives to the UK. He said the Home Office rejected the bid despite Maryam’s illness.
The application followed the large-scale destruction in parts of Gaza after the October 2023 clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas, a situation that Anwar and others have said made life and medical care in the territory increasingly precarious. He has told reporters he believes that had the family been permitted to relocate to the UK they would have had access to treatment that might have saved Maryam’s life.
The case underlines the difficult choices faced by refugees who settle in Britain and then seek to reunite vulnerable family members overseas. Campaigners and humanitarian groups have repeatedly pressed the UK government to expand and speed up routes for people displaced by the conflict in Gaza, particularly for those in urgent need of medical care or protection.
Anwar’s account adds to broader public debate in the UK about how the government manages family reunion and humanitarian admissions for Palestinians affected by the conflict. His remarks were part of reporting on individual cases that highlight the human consequences of visa decisions and the limits of existing pathways for relocation and medical evacuation.