Family of 18 from Gaza wins human rights challenge to allow them to come to Britain in major blow for Labour

By DAVID BARRETT, HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR Published: 23:34, 15 July 2026 | Updated: 23:52, 15 July 2026 A family of 18 from Gaza has won the right to come to Britain after launching a human rights challenge in the British courts. The landmark case was brought after a Gazan-born mother-of-three - who came to the UK as a refugee and is now a British citizen – was refused permission to bring her extended family into this country. Her relatives – both parents; a brother, his wife and four children; a sister and four children; and another sister, her husband and three children – won a legal challenge on human rights grounds. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood then attempted to have that decision overturned – but this week lost the case. The case exposes yet again how human rights laws undermine Britain's border controls by overturning decisions made by the Home Secretary. The Conservatives said the 'shameful' ruling risked 'opening the floodgates to thousands of Palestinians claiming asylum here due to Labour's pitiful adherence to flawed human rights laws'. The Home Office refused permission for the Palestinians' application to come to Britain under refugee family reunification rules. Their original application was lodged in late November 2023, about a month after Israeli forces entered Gaza in the wake of Hamas' October 7 surprise attacks which killed nearly 1,200 people. The Gazan family of 18 won their human rights claim to come to Britain, despite an attempt by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to overturn an earlier ruling. Pictured: an explosion after an Israeli attack on Gaza City on July 12 It has now emerged for the first time that the family won a human rights appeal in the lower immigration court in April last year. That decision led to an appeal by the Home Secretary in the upper immigration tribunal. But Upper Tribunal Judge Gemma Loughran threw out Ms Mahmood's case, agreeing that denying the family permission to come to the UK breached Labour's Human Rights Act. The Palestinians argued they had a 'right to family life' under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and won their case under Section 6 of the Act which sets out how it is 'unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right'. The whole family was granted anonymity by the courts. The ruling showed most of the adult applicants could not speak English and that the UK-based sister would only be able to accommodate her parents. The lower tribunal judge 'concluded that the applicants would require access to public funds', the ruling added. The UK-based daughter and her three children had suffered 'mental health problems' caused by their relatives' 'situation in Gaza', the judge said. Referring to the lower court's decision, Judge Loughran said: 'The judge concluded that the applicants' refusal of entry clearance would give rise to consequences of such gravity for the sponsor and her children as to be unjustifiably harsh such that the public interest was outweighed. 'Accordingly, the judge found that the decisions made in respect of the applicants were disproportionate and unlawful under section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and allowed their appeals.' She added: 'I do not find the [Home Secretary's] grounds to be made out and I conclude that the judge's decision should stand. I accordingly uphold the judge's decision.' It follows a case which emerged last year of another Gazan family winning a similar legal challenge, initially using a scheme designed for refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, which PM Sir Keir Starmer said he opposed. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch raised the earlier case during Prime Minister's Questions last February, saying it was 'completely wrong'. In response Sir Keir said he agreed, adding that 'it should be Parliament that makes the rules on immigration'. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said of the latest case: 'This risks opening the floodgates to thousands of Palestinians claiming asylum here, which Keir Starmer has already said he opposes, due to Labour's pitiful adherence to flawed human rights laws. 'Why should immigrants be allowed to ship in their entire extended family to the UK? 'The Home Secretary must urgently appeal this shameful decision to a higher court. 'We cannot have open borders with huge numbers of migrants exploiting human rights laws to come here or stay here. 'This is yet more evidence why the immigration tribunal must be abolished and why we must leave the ECHR.' He added: 'Only the Conservatives have a serious plan to do that and secure our borders.' The Home Office declined to comment.