Newsletters
Muhammad Abu Dakha, a 31-year-old Palestinian, managed to escape from Gaza to reach Europe in a journey that took one year on a jet ski, Reuters reported.
The Abu Dikhaa family continues to live in a tented area in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, after their home was destroyed.
He documented his story through videos, photographs, and audio files shared with Reuters, which also interviewed him, his travel companions upon their arrival in Italy, and their relatives in Gaza.
Abu Dakha initially went to China, where he hoped to win asylum, but returned to Egypt via Malaysia and Indonesia after that failed.
His attempts are documented in email correspondence with the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Representation in China from August and September 2024.
Abu Dakha then went to Libya, where migrants often face abuse by traffickers and militias, but Abu Dakha made it across in highly unusual circumstances.
After 10 failed crossing attempts with smugglers, he said he purchased a used Yamaha jet ski for about $5,000 through a Libyan online marketplace and invested another $1,500 in equipment, including a GPS, a satellite phone and life jackets.
Accompanied by two other Palestinians, 27-year-old Diaa and 23-year-old Bassem, he said he drove the jet ski for about 12 hours, seeing off a chasing Tunisian patrol boat, all while towing a dinghy with extra supplies.
The trio used ChatGPT to calculate how much fuel they would need, but still ran out some 20 kilometers (12 miles) shy of Lampedusa. They managed to call for help, prompting a rescue and their landing on Italy's southernmost island on Aug. 18.
They were picked up by a Romanian patrol boat taking part in a Frontex mission, a spokesperson for the European Union's border agency said, describing the circumstances as "an unusual occurrence."
"It was a very difficult journey, but we were adventurers. We had strong hope that we would arrive, and God gave us strength," said Bassem, who did not share his surname.
"The way they came was pretty unique," said Filippo Ungaro, spokesperson for UNHCR Italy, confirming that authorities recorded their arrival in Italy after a jet ski journey from the Libyan port of al-Khoms and a rescue off Lampedusa.
In a straight line, al-Khoms is about 350 kilometers from Lampedusa.
Abu Dakha contacted Reuters while staying in Lampedusa's migrant centre, after being told by a member of the staff there that his arrival via jet ski had been reported by local media.
From that point, he shared material and documents, although Reuters was unable to confirm certain aspects of his account.
From Lampedusa, the odyssey continued. The three men were taken by ferry to mainland Sicily, then transferred to Genoa in northwestern Italy, but escaped from the bus transporting them before reaching their destination.
A spokesperson for the Italian interior ministry said it had no specific information about the trio's movements.
After hiding in the bushes for a few hours, Abu Dakha took a plane from Genoa to Brussels. He shared a boarding card in his name for a low-cost flight from Genoa to Brussels Charleroi, dated Aug. 23.
From Brussels, he said he travelled to Germany, first taking a train to Cologne, then to Osnabrueck in Lower Saxony, where a relative picked him up by car and took him to Bramsche, a nearby town.
He says he has applied for asylum and is waiting for a court to examine his application, with no date set yet for a hearing. He has no job or income and is staying in a local center for asylum-seekers.
Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees declined to comment on his case, citing privacy reasons.
Abu Dakha hopes to win the right to stay in Germany and bring over his wife and two children, aged 4 and 6. He said one of them suffers from a neurological condition requiring medical care.
"That's why I risked my life on a jet ski," he said. "Without my family, life has no meaning," Abu Dakha said.
2 min read
