French Authorities Separate Rabhi, Nour, and Hossam al-Din From Father Ahmed al-Sheikh

A Palestinian family that fled Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip says French authorities separated three children from their father and placed them in state care, after allegations of abuse the family denies and says were not substantiated with medical or school evidence.

“When the al-Sheikh family fled the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip three years ago, they did not know they would face a fate even harsher at the hands of one of the French welfare associations”

Al-Jazeera Net

Al-Jazeera Net describes the children as ربحي (11 years old), نور (10 years old), and حسام الدين (8 years old), who arrived on French soil with their father and grandfather after their mother, رغد الشيخ, was listed as dead due to lack of contact.

Al-Jazeera Net

Palestine Chronicle says the children—Rabhi (11), Nour (10), and Hossam al-Din (8)—left Gaza in late 2023 with their father, Ahmed al-Sheikh, as part of an evacuation facilitated by the French Foreign Ministry during the early stages of the war.

Palestine Chronicle reports that on July 15, 2024, French child protection services intervened and removed the children from their father, placing them in a care facility and restricting contact with their family.

Countercurrents adds that the incident began in Grenoble, where the family had settled after evacuation, and says the children were taken in July 2024 after being approached by women who presented themselves as close family friends.

Countercurrents says the women later filed a complaint accusing the father of abuse, and that the judge extended the children’s placement in state care for another year, relying primarily on the association’s account.

In Al-Jazeera Net, Ruqad al-Sheikh says she believes the children were kidnapped by French authorities and calls on officials and every person of conscience to return her children to her or to join them wherever they are.

The accounts describe a sequence that begins with evacuation from Gaza and then shifts to prolonged separation and restricted communication in France.

Al-Jazeera Net says the family fled the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip three years ago, and that for a full year the mother, رغد الشيخ, was unable to communicate with her children by any means.

Countercurrents

Palestine Chronicle similarly says the family expected recovery and eventual reunification after arriving in France, but that French child protection services removed the children from their father on July 15, 2024 and restricted contact.

The Palestine Chronicle report adds that the children’s grandfather, who resides in France, said no medical or school report was presented to substantiate abuse claims, and that even during a court session held on March 30, 2026, no evidence was produced to support the accusations.

Countercurrents says the judge extended the children’s placement in state care for another year, relying primarily on the association’s account, and it describes the judge acknowledging the absence of documented evidence during testimony.

Al-Jazeera Net says that when the father sought justice, a French court ordered that the children remain with the association for one year and completely barred them from contacting their father, according to Ruqad al-Sheikh to Al Jazeera.

Across the reports, the mother in Gaza is portrayed as being cut off from timely information, with Palestine Chronicle stating that authorities halted all visual communication about a year ago and left her with written messages only that are often delayed by weeks.

All three reports emphasize that the family disputes the abuse allegations and points to what they say is missing documentation.

“ByPalestine Chronicle Staff A Palestinian mother in Gaza has been separated from her three children after French authorities removed them from their father and placed them in state care, months after the family fled the genocide in the Gaza Strip”

Palestine Chronicle

Al-Jazeera Net says the children were transferred custody to one of the associations on the grounds of alleged abuse by their father, though there was no material evidence or medical report proving the abuse of the children.

Palestine Chronicle reports that the removal followed allegations of abuse against the father, and it states that the grandfather said “no medical or school report” was presented to substantiate these claims.

Countercurrents adds that the family firmly denies the allegations and says no medical or school reports support claims of abuse, and it states that “even the judge acknowledged the absence of documented evidence.”

Countercurrents also describes the relationship with the women as “close and familial” until the day before the children were taken, and says the association’s representative later visited the grandfather and promised to resolve the issue without police involvement, asking him not to file a complaint.

Palestine Chronicle says lawyers representing both the family and social services reportedly supported restoring family contact, while a reception center in Morestel also recommended reconnecting the children with their relatives.

In Al-Jazeera Net, Ruqad al-Sheikh accuses the person in charge of the children of severe racism and says the association deceives them into thinking that their Palestinian identity is the cause of all their problems.

The reports portray the mother in Gaza as living with displacement and communication barriers while fearing permanent separation and cultural loss.

Palestine Chronicle says Raghda al-Sheikh remained in Gaza, displaced and cut off from her family for weeks due to the collapse of communications infrastructure, and it adds that she relied on video calls as her only means of maintaining a connection for months.

Countercurrents

It then states that approximately a year ago, authorities halted all visual communication, limiting her contact to written messages only, which are often delayed by weeks.

Palestine Chronicle quotes Raghda describing the decision as unjustified and deeply distressing, saying that video calls had been her “only outlet” to maintain emotional contact with her children.

During her last video calls, Palestine Chronicle says she told the story that she already needed an Arabic–French translator to communicate with them, as they had begun losing fluency in Arabic, and it includes her line: “It’s as if I am getting to know my children again.”

The report also quotes her fear that prolonged separation could result in her children losing not only their language but also their cultural and religious identity, including her statement: “I am afraid they will be taken from me forever or given to another family.”

Al-Jazeera Net adds that Ruqad carries her children's clothes and toys, and says the family failed to save them from the 'racism of the international community,' which she says pursues Palestinians wherever they are.

The family’s legal and personal ordeal is framed in the sources against the ongoing war and displacement in Gaza, and the reports include calls for intervention.

“A Palestinian family evacuated from Gaza to France says French authorities have separated three children from their parents after allegations of abuse that the family strongly denies and courts have not substantiated with evidence”

Countercurrents

Countercurrents says the case unfolds as Gaza continues to face a deep humanitarian crisis, and it cites that “more than 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced, many multiple times” and that “Over 1.2 million people have lost their homes.”

Al-Jazeera Net

It also states that “a ceasefire took effect on October 10” while “Israeli attacks and restrictions on aid continue,” worsening conditions across the enclave.

Palestine Chronicle similarly says the family has strongly rejected accusations against the father and quotes Raghda: “I do not believe these accusations,” and “He is very kind with his children.”

Palestine Chronicle includes Raghda’s reflection on the separation, quoting her: “I wish they had never left,” and it also quotes her uncertainty about the children’s daily life: “I don’t know who takes care of them, who wakes them up, who comforts them,” and “I don’t know anything about them anymore.”

Al-Jazeera Net ends with Ruqad’s call for officials and every person of conscience to return her children, and it says she believes the children are kidnapped by the French authorities who she says insist on separating her family rather than working to reunite it.

Countercurrents adds that Quds News Network contacted the association for comment but received no response, and it describes the association as “Palestine Nous Rassemble.”