Two young men from the Gaza Strip died on Saturday, as Algerian coastguard teams rescued several others who attempted to seek shelter in Spain, Ma’an reported Sunday.
The men’s family, Al-Masri, confirmed the sinking of a boat carrying a group of its sons who had set sail “in search of a safe life and a decent living.” The ship sank off the coast of Algeria.
The family said in a statement that their son Abdullah Mohammed al-Masri was with his Algerian fiancée when he was hit by a boat. He drowned, but the Algerian coastguard managed to rescue the rest of his family members. Munir Abu Shrakh, 43, also drowned and died.
According to the same source, the boat included 18 passengers, mostly Gaza Arabs. The Algerian authorities continue to search for missing passengers.
Tens of thousands of Gazan residents have left the strip by land and sea since the Hamas takeover in the summer of 2007.