A UK court has repealed a government order keeping members of families from the Gaza Strip separated. 

The Guardian reported on Sunday that Judge Fiona Lindsley of the Upper Tribunal immigration court overturned the government's order, saying the children’s welfare should have been given primary consideration in the Home Office's decisions on keeping family members separated.

The court judge ruled that the Home Secretary acted unlawfully in the way the immigration policy applied to two families blocked from reunion.

In her ruling, Judge Lindsley said these families are living in vulnerable structures in a war zone, malnourished, unwell and struggling psychologically with anxiety from their husbands and fathers in the UK that they would not survive much longer if they remained in Gaza.

“The best interests of these children should be the primary consideration, and it cannot be in their best interests to be afraid, undernourished and suffering from diseases of poverty and insanitary conditions without their fathers and no end in sight to that separation,” she said.

The immigrants under review in the case are both young mothers with five children between them aged seven and under, hoping to reunite with their husbands who have already been granted refugee status in the UK.

However, the Home Office is actively keeping these families apart, "leaving them stranded in Gaza in grave danger.”

The Home Office said the biometrics should be obtained before families travel. The Foreign Office has said it is willing to evacuate some of these families from Gaza so they can do the biometric tests in Jordan.

Both families are living in Gaza tents with insufficient food, no access to clean water, rodents, mosquitoes, bedbugs and the risk of Israeli snipers targeting them.

The government has devised tough rules, making it difficult for an estimated 250-300 people in Gaza who want to reunite with immediate family members, who have already been granted refugee status, in the UK.

A Home Office spokesperson said the government plans to overturn the judge's order at the Court of Appeal.

The Home Office said biometrics is an essential part of the immigration process that all immigrants need to pass.

“We will be looking to appeal this decision. Biometrics, including fingerprints and facial images, are a core part of the UK’s immigration system, and their enrolment at a UK overseas visa application centre is a standard requirement when making a visa application to come to the UK," it added.

“The enrolment of biometrics enables comprehensive checks against UK and international immigration and criminal records to identify individuals who may pose a threat to national security, public safety or immigration controls, or who are likely to breach UK laws if admitted.”