British-Palestinian’s Desperate Hunger Strike: A Heart-Wrenching Tale Amidst Gaza’s Tragedy

Watan-A British-Palestinian Citizen Commences a Hunger Strike for 50 Days Following the Martyrdom of His Family Members in Gaza.

According to a report by the Middle East Eye, 28-year-old Wael Arafat, a British-Palestinian citizen, has been unable to walk but remains conscious and communicative.

Wael Arafat has lost nearly 20 kilograms since starting his hunger strike 50 days ago. He is urging the United Kingdom government to take action to halt the Israeli war on Gaza.

While lying in a hospital in Bath, Southwest England, where he is receiving treatment, Wael said, ‘I know that I may die. I know something might happen to my health… I don’t want to die. I am doing this for my people who are suffering. Everyone in Gaza is my brother and sister.

Raised in Deir al-Balah

Wael Arafat, originally from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, lost his parents at the age of five. His grandmother raised him in the besieged Gaza Strip before he moved to the United Kingdom as a young teenager.

He stopped eating and drinking on October 22nd after learning that his sister and her four children were martyred in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Gaza City.

He said, ‘My family told me they were at home and safe… They told me they might have to evacuate. I asked them, where will you go? They said, we don’t know.’

Two weeks into the war, Wael Arafat spoke to his sister for the last time. He said, ‘My sister called me to tell me they stayed at home and might die. That was the last conversation I had with her… I’ve never been able to meet her.’

Deir al-Balah has often been a target of Israeli airstrikes, including the air raids this month that resulted in the martyrdom of dozens of Palestinians.

Wael Arafat stated, ‘There is no safe place in Gaza… People were asked to move, but the situation is not safe. We want our voice to be heard. We want to say enough.

“Over the past week, Arafat consumed a small amount of fluids through intravenous drips after doctors informed him that his condition had significantly deteriorated.

Wael Arafat expressed that he felt the hunger strike was the only way to make his voice heard, stating, ‘This is exactly what they do in the [Israeli] prisons,’ referring to Palestinians who refrain from eating or drinking in protest against their detention and the inhumane conditions in Israeli prisons.

Arafat’s adoptive mother, Patricia Davis Thomas, said that his family in the United Kingdom was extremely concerned about him. She added, ‘My entire family is upset. We want Wael to be okay and to come home… We want him to know that protesting is good, but it doesn’t mean he has to die because of it.’

She continued, ‘We want him to continue living, and then he can continue supporting the Palestinian people.’

Davis Thomas and her husband took care of Arafat in 2009 after his arrival in the United Kingdom at the age of 14. She said they had limited information about him at that time but quickly realized he was severely traumatized by what had happened in Gaza.

She said, ‘We knew nothing about Palestine or about Wael… I told him after he came that I would always stand by him. He just needed someone. He’s a big part of our family.’

She noted that Arafat has been struggling to cope with the devastation that has befallen his homeland in the past two months, saying, ‘He is reliving the trauma he experienced in Palestine.’

Wael Arafat stated that he intends to continue his hunger strike until the British government supports a ceasefire, adding, ‘I want the UK government to do something, and I want the Israeli government to stop killing people.’