Lolwah Al Khater mourns death of GU-Q student’s father in Gaza

NT Bureau

Doha: Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H E Lolwah Al Khater has expressed her condolences on the death of Awad Hasan Zayed, father of Georgetown University-Qatar (GU-Q) student Ahmed Awad Zayed.  

Ahmed Awad Zayed succumbed to injuries sustained from an Israeli air strike in Gaza.

Zayed announced his father’s death in an emotional Instagram message on February 8. “My father is a martyr; praise be to God, martyrdom looks good on you!” he said. “I’ve missed you, Dad. I’ve missed you a lot. I’ve missed seeing you, extending my hand to hold and kiss yours with all of its wrinkles and details of the 58 years you’ve lived,” Zayed added.

Al Khater wrote on X: “In the past three months, we have submitted several official requests to the respective authorities to evacuate Ahmed’s family through [the] Rafah crossing and bring them to Qatar to join Ahmed,”. 

The minister added that the family were denied approval to leave Gaza despite Doha’s “pleas and the active and constant diplomatic engagement.” 

 “The rest of Ahmed’s family are still stuck in Gaza, and with the atrocious military operation in Rafah, they are in grave danger. We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the safety of Ahmed’s remaining family in Gaza, requesting immediate approval to allow them to cross Rafah borders in order to evacuate them to Qatar,” Al Khater added.

She said that “there are hundreds who have been denied [permission] to leave despite all the diplomatic efforts and pressure.”

“All civilians in Gaza must be protected, and this brutal massacre must stop,”