A Palestinian man in Malta says Hamas has prevented his family in Gaza from fleeing to the south of the strip and he has now been unable to contact them for over a week.

Mohammed Abunada, a Palestinian asylum seeker who left Gaza in 2018, told Times of Malta he has not been able to reach his family since Israeli forces seized their district in Gaza City.

“The Israeli army requested the evacuation of the Akhti area and the northern areas of Gaza, but Hamas prevented them from leaving,” he said.

“Hamas is using people as human shields. Meanwhile, Israel bombs everything and does not distinguish between a civilian and an armed man.”

The last time Abunada spoke with his family in Gaza, his brother Ahmed – who helped him escape the country five years ago – was seriously injured in an Israeli airstrike which killed his entire family, he said.

“My brother helped me get out of Gaza, and after that Hamas arrested him because he helped me. They demanded I surrender myself before he could be released.”

Abunada said he was imprisoned by the militant group after participating in protests: “I was demanding my rights as a Palestinian and a human being – of being provided with water, electricity and work... I just wanted a simple life.

“The house of my family, my brother and my sister were bombed during the war. My brother went to another place, but unfortunately that house was also bombed, wounding him and killing his wife and three children,” he said.

Muhammad's brother Ahmed suffered significant injuries when the building he was in was hit by an Israeli airstrike.

Despite a fractured lower jaw, burns to his back and other injuries to his body, Ahmed was unable to find treatment in Gaza’s hospitals due to overcrowding while a number were destroyed or damaged by Israeli military strikes.

Stressing Hamas was “hiding underground” while leaving civilians to face the brunt of Israeli action in the streets above, Abunada is devastated by the loss of innocent lives.

Nobody in Gaza supports Hamas, except those who benefit

“All the dead are children, women and innocents. We have nothing to do with what Hamas is doing... Nobody in Gaza supports Hamas, except those who benefit.

“They steal money and aid, impose taxes and do not provide services to residents. There was an unemployment rate of 60 per cent before the war,” he said, adding the only way for people to receive help was to pledge allegiance to militants.

Ahmed's wife and three children were killed in the explosion that left him with critical injuries.

Abunada shared photos of his family home in Gaza before and after Israeli airstrikes devastated the area, explaining they had been taken during the six-day ceasefire.

He also shared a video recorded during the pause in fighting. In the footage, a man’s voice can be heard describing “huge devastation and destruction” to residential towers that were once the site of the Abunada family home.

“The Israeli tanks and jet fighters did not leave any tower standing in this area,” the man can be heard saying, adding the destruction extends to a street leading to two schools and the Ministry of Education, according to a translation heard by Times of Malta.

Abunada has called for an end to fighting and to be granted asylum in Malta, which he said denied his request because he was registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Muhammad's family home before and after it was targeted by an Israeli airstrike.

Last month, the UN agency reported that one of its guesthouses in southern Gaza had been hit by a strike from Israeli naval forces, sustaining significant damage.

According to the UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini the attack was “yet another indication that nowhere in Gaza is safe.”

More than 17,000 people are believed to have been killed in Gaza as Israel retaliated heavily to a surprise attack on October 7, which left around 1,400 people dead.