Gazan Arrives in Europe On Jet Ski After Year-Long Trek

It took more than a year and tens of thousands of dollars, but 31-year-old Muhammad Abu Daka from Gaza finally made it to Europe, Reuters reported Tuesday. His journey included a perilous jet ski ride spanning hundreds of kilometers.

Abu Daka left Gaza in April 2024 via the Rafah Crossing, paying roughly $5,000 just before the IDF seized control of the area. He explained that he then traveled to China in hopes of securing political asylum, but was denied entry and sent back to Egypt through Malaysia and Indonesia.

From Egypt, he pressed on to Libya, a hub for migrants and refugees attempting dangerous sea crossings to Europe. Despite repeated efforts to book passage on smuggler boats, he could not secure a spot.

Determined to find another way, Abu Daka bought a Yamaha jet ski for about $5,000 and spent an additional $1,500 on equipment, including a GPS, satellite phone, and life jackets. Together with two friends, he launched from Al-Khoms, a Libyan coastal city 350 kilometers from Italy’s island of Lampedusa.

According to Abu Daka, they spent about 12 hours on the water, towing a rubber dinghy with extra supplies and slipping past Tunisian patrols. They had even used ChatGPT to estimate the necessary fuel, but ran out about 20 kilometers before reaching Lampedusa.

They managed to call for assistance and were rescued by a vessel from the European Union’s Joint Border Protection Agency, which brought them safely to the Italian island.

From there, Abu Daka and his companions took a ferry to Sicily, then boarded a bus bound for Genoa in northern Italy. Before arriving, they jumped off and hid in nearby bushes for hours. Abu Daka then split from his friends, flew from Genoa to Brussels, and continued by land to Germany.

He first traveled by train to Cologne, then Osnabrück, where a relative drove him to Bramsche. Abu Daka said he has since applied for political asylum and is waiting at a local shelter for the court to decide on his case.

He hopes that once his request is approved, he can reunite with his wife and two young children, ages 4 and 6, one of whom suffers from a neurological condition. “That’s why I risked my life like that on a jet ski,” Abu Daka said. “Without my family, my life has no meaning.”