A Palestinian migrant fleeing war-torn Gaza has shared footage of his treacherous journey across the English Channel, showing how he travelled on a crammed dinghy full of people.
Abu Wadih Al-Qassas has been documenting his escape from the deadly Israel-Hamas war on TikTok, with some of his videos garnering 89,000 views.
One clip shows the refugee, who boasts nearly 173,000 followers on the social platform, sitting on a packed boat in the middle of the sea alongside dozens of migrants – including women and children – most of which are wearing orange life vests.
The video is captioned: ‘Thank God, we have arrived in Britain after a long journey’.
Other clips shared by Al-Qassas of his journey from Gaza to Europe show him sat outside a tent accompanied by other refugees and surrounded by a fire.
In a similar video, Al-Qassas shows a group of migrant men bundled up in sleeping bags and coats as they rest around a fire.
Another video shows the Palestinian man standing at a bus stop on the side of a busy road with with other migrants.
Around 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, according to the United Nations, which started after Palestinian terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 as hostages.
A Palestinian migrant fleeing war-torn Gaza has documented his treacherous journey across the English Channel
Around 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war
Other clips shared by Al-Qassas of his journey to the UK show him sat outside a tent accompanied by other refugees
In response, Israel launched an air and ground war in Gaza that has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and devastated much of the narrow enclave.
Al-Qassas videos come as a migrant dinghy headed for Britain got into trouble in its waters earlier this week.
Shocking scenes showed the packed boat – carrying 60 people – struggling to break through the waves as migrants onboard appeared to wave for help.
But after allegedly being told not to intervene by the migrants, French navy safety ship Ridens radioed UK Border Force staff to rush to the dinghy, while continuing to shadow it towards English waters.
Eventually, the passengers were taken on board the British Typhoon.
Migrants have been losing their lives at alarming rates in recent years when crossing French territory into England.
Around 33 people are believed to have been on board an inflatable dinghy which sank in the early hours of November 24, 2021 – killing at least 27 of its passengers including men, women and children.
The clips shared by the Gazan refugee come after a migrant dinghy headed for Britain got into trouble in its waters earlier this week
The group of migrants left Dunkirk, France, at 10pm the previous night – realising their boat was sinking at 1.30am.
It is said to be the deadliest-ever English Channel crossing on record.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage condemned this week’s incident, suggesting too many small boats are crossing the Channel without intervention from France.
‘The French may stop the odd boat in the shallows but overall this will make little difference as these pictures clearly show,’ the politician said.
The French navy explained the migrants did not want assistance after being offered help from their safety vessel.
New figures show how the small boat crisis is deepening.
In just the first four days of this month 1,168 migrants have made their way across the Channel, with 326 migrants in six boats making the perilous journey yesterday.
This is the first recording of more than 1,000 arrivals in four days so far this year, according to Home Office data.
The total number migrants this year so far to 3,224 – eight percent higher than the same point last year and also nine per cent up on 2023 where 2,953 migrants crossing the Channel by this point.
