{
  "id": 1953449,
  "title": "Family who died in sea off UK named as Palestinian refugees",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/family-who-died-in-sea-off-uk-named-as-palestinian-refugees",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-19T14:02:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/2026/08/19/family-who-died-in-sea-off-uk-named-as-palestinian-refugees/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Palestinian refugee family from Lebanon tragically lost three members after encountering difficulties at sea off the coast of the United Kingdom. The victims, identified as Hassan El Khawas, 55, his wife Zeina Alayn, 37, and their 14-year-old daughter Sara El-Khawas, succumbed to their injuries in Shoreham, West Sussex. Their youngest daughter, Saja, remains hospitalized in critical condition. Mr. Al Khawas, a resident of Sussex, was originally from the Rashidieh camp in Lebanon, as confirmed by the Palestinian embassy in the UK. The Palestinian Forum in Britain expressed profound sorrow for the family and the Palestinian community in Britain, particularly the people of Rashidieh camp. They also urged anyone with information about the family to come forward to aid in their reunification. The event occurred on Tuesday when emergency services responded to a distress call near Shoreham Fort. Despite the valiant efforts of paramedics, the man, woman, and teenage girl were pronounced dead. The authorities believe the family had entered the water from the land to swim and subsequently faced difficulties. The Rashidieh camp, established by UNRWA in 1963, was initially intended to shelter Palestine refugees from various villages in Palestine who had been displaced from El Buss refugee camp and Baalbeck due to the Lebanese government's relocation efforts.",
  "summary": "A family of three who died after getting into difficulty at sea in the UK this week were Palestinian refugees. They have been named by police as Hassan El Khawas, 55, his partner Zeina Alayn, 37, and their 14-year-old daughter, Sara El-Khawas. Their younger daughter, Saja, was rescued and remains in critical condition in hospital, it was reported. Mr Al Khawas was a refugee from the Rashidieh…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National Business",
        "title": "Family who died in sea off UK named as Palestinian refugees",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/family-who-died-in-sea-off-uk-named-as-palestinian-refugees-1954442",
        "published": "2026-08-19T14:02:44.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}