A Palestinian father risked his life crossing the Mediterranean on a jet ski to reach Europe - in the hope of bringing his wife and sick child to safety.

Muhammad Abu Dakha, 31, fled war-torn Gaza and embarked on a dangerous journey to Germany, where he hopes to gain asylum and access urgent medical treatment for one of his children, who suffers from a neurological condition.

Abu Dakha said he spent over a year and thousands of dollars trying to escape the ongoing conflict and reach Europe.

He initially travelled to China but returned to Egypt via Malaysia and Indonesia after being denied asylum. He also spent time in Libya searching for another route out.

After ten failed crossing attempts with smugglers, he turned to an online marketplace in Libya and bought a second-hand Yamaha jet ski for around 5,000 USD.

He spent an additional 1,500 USD on essential gear, including a GPS system, satellite phone, and life jackets.

Abu Dakha was joined by two other Palestinians, Diaa, 27, and Bassem, 23. The trio rode the watercraft for nearly 12 hours, at one point outrunning a Tunisian patrol boat, while towing a small dinghy packed with extra fuel and supplies.

Footage shows the group smiling and waving at the camera as they made their daring escape across open waters.

They said they even used ChatGPT to help calculate how much fuel they would need but still ran out around 20 kilometres from the Italian island of Lampedusa. They managed to send a distress signal and were rescued.

A Romanian patrol vessel participating in a Frontex operation responded to the call, with a spokesman for the EU border agency confirming the incident and calling it 'an unusual occurrence'.

After reaching Lampedusa on August 18, the three were transferred by ferry to mainland Sicily. From there, they were put on a bus bound for Genoa in northern Italy, but reportedly escaped before arriving at the destination.

An Italian interior ministry spokesman said they had no specific details regarding the men's whereabouts after their escape.

Abu Dakha said he hid in bushes for several hours before boarding a flight from Genoa to Brussels on August 23.

He then took a train to Cologne, Germany, and continued on to Osnabruck, where a relative collected him and drove him to the nearby town of Bramsche.

He is currently staying in a local asylum centre while awaiting a decision on his application for refugee status. He has no job or income and no court hearing has been scheduled yet.

Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees declined to comment on the case due to privacy regulations.

Back in Gaza, Abu Dakha's family remains in a tent camp in Khan Younis after their home was destroyed in the war.

His father, Abdrabuh Souliman Abu Dakha, said: 'He had an internet shop, and his work, thank God, was comfortable financially and everything. He had built things up, and it all collapsed.'

Abu Dakha said his only goal now is to bring his wife and two young children - aged four and six - to safety in Germany. One of the children requires ongoing medical care for a neurological condition.

He added: 'That's why I risked my life on a jet ski. Without my family, life has no meaning.'