I was sent sad face emoji by Foreign Office after pleading for help fleeing Gaza, claims Brit teacher trapped in warzone | The Sun
A BRITISH woman trapped in Gaza claims she was sent a sad face emoji by a Foreign Office official.
Zaynab Wandawi, 29, has been in the terrifying warzone for more than three weeks now and says she's been left feeling “insignificant” after pleading for help escaping the city.
The school teacher from Manchester was going back and forth with the British Foreign Office after arriving in the war-torn city just days before Hamas' brutal October 7 massacre.
Messages show the brave woman desperately looking for support.
On October 28, the official asked: "Hi Zaynab, how are you doing for food and water?
“Do you have any injuries?"
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She replied with: "We don't have much – we barely eat and drink as there's nothing left.
“Water is a luxury that we are not privy to."
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) official then tells a worried Zaynab that the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt still isn’t open and they’re not sure when it will be.
She replied saying: "The longer we are here – the higher the chance that we will not make it to the Rafah border.
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“I honestly don't think they know how much our lives are at risk."
Despite the clear danger Zaynab feels she’s in, the official replied with a sad face, writing: "I really don't understand why they are taking so long."
Zaynab spoke to Sky News a few days after the message saying she was in a "very scary and not safe" situation.
She continued: "It made me feel like they don't even consider me a British national, it made me feel insignificant to be honest.
"I was really angry because each day that we're still here there's a higher chance we'll never get out. It's very scary, there are a lot of deaths.
“I don't want to go into a lot of detail over the phone but it's devastating.
"I've never witnessed anything like this in my life, it's disgusting and not safe."
The Foreign Office has reassured Brits stuck in Gaza that they’re doing “whatever we can” to help.
They also admitted to Wandawi and others that the British government "don't have any staff in Gaza who can help practically".
An FCDO spokesperson told The Sun: "The safety of British nationals remains our top priority.
"We are working closely with Egypt and Israel to ensure all British nationals can exit via the Rafah crossing or other routes as quickly as possible.
"FCDO has been keeping in close contact with British Nationals in Gaza and will continue to update them on the latest status of the crossing."
The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is currently the only way to leave Gaza without crossing into Israel by land.
The UK and US governments are pushing Israel for a pause in the bombing to get more aid in and foreign citizens out.
PM Rishi Sunak said: “We’re very keen to bring them out and bring them home.
“When the moment arises we’ll be ready to take it quickly.
“For that to happen there needs to be a safer environment, which of course necessitates specific pauses.
"Alongside aid, we also want to try and get our British nationals out of Gaza, for the hostages to be released."
It comes after a UK minister said British citizens trapped in Gaza could be classed a "hostages" as they’re not being allowed to leave.
The Hamas terrorist group claims to have up to 250 captives in Gaza and issued a chilling threat to execute one civilian for each Israeli airstrike unleashed without warning.
It's feared many of the hostages – both Israeli and non-Israeli citizens – are being held in a 311-mile maze of tunnels underground.
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Earlier this month, a top Hamas leader hinted they may attempt to use those it abducted as bargaining chips to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas' diaspora office, said the group "has what it needs" to free 6,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails.
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