Just before the beginning of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, Eman and Ahmed Shat were overjoyed to announce they would soon be welcoming their fourth child.
Now in her third trimester of pregnancy and living in an overcrowded refugee camp in Rafah without basic essentials such as food and water, Eman, 29, is severely depressed and dreading the day she goes into labour.
She has no access to medical support or medication, and there is no privacy in the camp.
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“If the baby comes in this situation, how will (I) supply them with even nappies,” she told 7NEWS.com.au.
Eman, Ahmed and their three children are among the 1.5 million Gazans sheltering near the border with Egypt, as Israel continues to pummel the enclave, in a bid to wipe out Hamas following the October 7 attack in Israel in which the militant group killed 1200 people and took more than 200 hostages.
Some 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict so far, local health authorities say.
The Shats’ Australian relatives applied for them to come to Melbourne on a visitor (subclass 600) visa offered to those escaping the conflict, but the family were recently been rejected, with a letter from the Department of Home Affairs stating it was not satisfied they “genuinely intend to stay temporarily in Australia”.
After receiving the rejection, Ahmed said he had “lost all meaning to life” and is “ready to die”.
All the family’s relatives are living in the same camp. Sometimes there are 12 people sleeping in a single plastic that does not keep out the cold or rain, Ahmed said.
They are all suffering from body aches from sleeping on the hard floor with only a few blankets for comfort.
Eman said they could hear airstrikes as often as every 20 minutes, and her children were showing signs of psychological trauma.
“They know that death is very near them and that anyone (of them) can die any minute,” she said.
Her eldest, Haidar, 7, said he dreams of his relatives who were “murdered”.
“I hope I don’t get killed by an airstrike and I wish to stop hearing the constant buzzing of war drones … I want the war to end,” he said.
“I dream I wake up and the world has helped us and the war is over.”
Humanitarian agencies have warned Gaza is on the brink of famine and at least 23 children have died of starvation because Israel has restricted aid supply.
UNICEF reports 23 per cent of children in north Gaza are suffering malnutrition.
While Israel said it has increased aid allowed into Gaza, UN officials said it’s still far below minimum levels needed to address the problem.
Eman is anxious about how she will supply breastmilk when her baby is born, as the family are sharing a single meal a day.
She said the family are weekly given cans of cheese, beans, flour and rice by aid agencies.
Each person is given about 250ml of drinking water a day and sometimes a biscuit or two.
Eman said she and her children have lost excessive amounts of weight, and she had not been able to check on the health of her unborn baby since the war began.
Gaza’s main hospitals are under immense pressure with lack of medical supplies, staff and electricity, as well as the risk of military raids and attacks.
Only two of 12 hospitals have maternity services, the hospital in Rafah only has five beds.
Meanwhile, about 180 women are giving birth daily in Gaza, according to UNICEF.
Doctors in Gaza have reported to CARE international that women were giving birth prematurely, having cesareans without pain relief, and were all at high risk of infection.
Eman said her son and daughters, who are aged between seven and four years old, cry for food and are regularly vomiting or have diarrhoea.
“Kids are sometimes picky, so they get sick of having the same thing to eat,” Eman said.
“Not having enough nutritious food now will affect their growth. This will affect them for the rest of their lives because this is a very essential, important time of their childhood. ”
The youngest child, Sila, 4, said she wished she could go back to preschool and eat potato chips.
The family have only been showering once every few weeks because washing water is in short supply and expensive.
Her two daughters once had lush, thick curls but their hair is now matted because of irregular showers.
Ahmed said the family left their home in Khan Yunis in northern Gaza a few days after October 7.
Since then, they have been forced to relocate four times because the neighbourhoods in which they were sheltering were targeted in airstrikes, and each time they lost more family members.
On one occasion it took them two days to recover the bodies of their loved ones from under the rubble.
Eman said her children only had two sets of clothes to change into if they become dirty because they could not take most of their belongings. She has no clothes or other supplies for her newborn that’s soon to arrive.
Ahmed’s sister, Tasnim Shat’s dream of starting a family has also been destroyed because of the war.
After trying to conceive a baby for three years, she was finally booked for an IVF procedure that was cancelled because Gaza’s hospitals were struggling to cope.
She said she hasn’t menstruated for six months, but is unable to see a doctor for advice.
Visa subclasses for Gazans inadequate
Recently, the Department of Home Affairs came under fire for cancelling the visas of some Palestinians while they were on their way to Australia.
The Refugee Council of Australia also wrote to Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil saying the visitor (subclass 600) visa that Palestinians were to told to consider applying for was “not fit for purpose”.
“The risk for anyone using this visa in these circumstances is that their visa could be cancelled at any time because they could be assessed as not meeting the visa criteria,” the letter said.
Nevett Ford Lawyers director Ryan Curtis-Griffiths said the 600 visa was for tourist purposes or people wanting to visit family, and not appropriate for those fleeing a war zone.
“When you look at the regulations in there, black and white, it’s all about them (visa officers) having to be convinced that someone’s here for a genuine short stay and that they’ve got reasons to go back.
“To show that you’ve got employment prospects to go back to or financial reasons to go back to is just not possible for someone to be able to demonstrate (in Gaza).
“There probably needs to be a bit more leadership from the government on how are they going to handle this,” he said.
The Department of Home Affairs has granted people fleeing wars such as Afghanistan and Ukraine temporary humanitarian visas in the past, allowing them to work, study and receive Medicare benefits.
UNSW Refugee Advocacy and Casework director Sarah Dale said these visas were not open to application but were issued with “ministerial intervention”.
“I would really echo the call for the Australian government to look at a more fit for purpose emergency type visa,” Dale said.
‘Last hope to live’ Palestinians plea for visas
More than 2200 Palestinians have been approved for visitor visas to arrive in Australia since October 7.
The Department of Home Affairs assesses their identity, health, security, character requirements and whether they will stay temporarily in Australia.
Curtis-Griffiths questioned whether the department had an internal policy change that meant Gazans were more likely to be rejected for a visa now compared to when the war began.
Dale said a better system should lead to more consistent visa decisions for all applicants.
Eman’s sister-in-law Fatma Abumustafa said she would financially support the Shat family during their stay in Melbourne.
She said Eman, who is a medical engineer, and Ahmed, an accountant, also had some savings to support themselves.
Abumustafa called the government’s policy towards Gazans “unfair”.
She has a screenshot of the Home Affairs website directing Palestinians in the war zone to “consider” apply for visitor (subclass 600) visas, but her family were rejected because they weren’t considered “genuine” tourists who will return home.
“I have become very angry … my mental health is very bad, my mind is not in the right place … it’s the feeling that you are not treated equally,” she said.
The Department of Home Affairs has since removed advice for Palestinians to apply for 600 visas, and instead directed people to “explore visa options”.
A Home Affairs spokesperson said the department did not direct people to apply for a specific visa.
“People in Gaza can choose what visa they apply for. Each application received is assessed against the legislative criteria for grant based on the individual’s own circumstances.”
But both Dale and Curtis-Griffiths said there were no visa options that would suit the circumstances of those looking to flee immediately.
Ahmed said he had high hopes of being accepted for a temporary visa because of the family’s dire circumstances.
“You are our only and last resort to save our lives. If you don’t step in and help us now, we might be killed just like our relatives,” he said.
“Please help me evacuate my pregnant wife and have her baby in a safe place where there hospital and access to care
“You are the last hope we have to live.”
Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil declined to comment on the Shat family’s application. Her office did not respond to questions regarding overhauling the visa system for people fleeing conflict zones.
The department said in a statement it did not comment on individual cases.