‘We have no hope for their survival’: British Palestinians in agony as family trapped in Gaza

‘They just want to know when this will end,’ anxious families tell The Independent as loved ones fight to survive

A British-Palestinian woman has shared her agony as her elderly father, disabled mother and four siblings face horrifying uncertainty after fleeing their home in Gaza, as relatives lose hope for their survival.

Jas, who lives in Birmingham with her husband Ali after moving to the UK in 2014, told The Independent she has been enduring "endless nights" terrified of the news the morning may bring about her parents and siblings after they were forced to flee from Israeli air strikes.

The 34-year-old said her mother, 61, who needs a wheelchair, 75-year-old father, two brothers, two sisters and eight nieces and nephews - one as young as two - were given a two-minute warning in a call from the IDF last week ahead of their home being bombarded with missiles.

“They saw bodies in the rubble on the road as they fled. My mum said the smell was horrible,” Jas, who did not want to give her real name, said.

“My heart races when I get a notification. They are all scared, fleeing hopeless, panicking. They don’t know what will happen next. They just want to know when this will end.”

Jas said she experienced the “horror” of three wars in her homeland before she left, but said the situation is “more intense than ever before”.

Ali and his Jas say they are terrified for their family in Gaza (Supplied )

“Knowing my family faces danger while I am away is emotionally too much,” she added.

“This has tested my faith to the limit. It’s hard to express the continuous anxiety that gnaws at my heart while my family is under fire.”

Her parents and siblings, along with her aunts, uncles, cousins and their children, were forced to flee to Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of over 1.1 million people from the north to the south.

Before the evacuation order on Friday, her family had already been forced to flee 18 times from house to house.

Jas’s husband, Ali, said he has “no hope for their survival”.

“When my in-laws were in their home, the IDF called them and said, ‘You have two minutes to flee before we bomb’,” he said. “My mother-in-law is disabled and needs a wheelchair. My father-in-law is 75 years old. Can you imagine how difficult it is for them to evacuate?”

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territory, warned that Palestinians may be facing another “Nakba”, or forced expulsion from their land.

It comes as Israeli forces have positioned themselves along Gaza’s border as they prepare for a ground offensive after Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israeli towns on 7 October.

Dr Haitham Al-Haddad, who currently serves as the Chair of the Fatwa Committee for The Islamic Council of Europe, told The Independent his aunt from Gaza described the scenes as “worse than World War Two” as fourteen of their relatives in northern Gaza were killed on Sunday in an airstrike.

“There are none of them left,” Mr Al-Haddad said. “But even through the pain, the people of Gaza are determined to fight and struggle until they get their freedom.”

Thousands of people fled from northern Gaza on Friday after Israel gave over a million people 24 hours to flee to the south (EPA)

The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 2,808 people have been killed and 10,859 injured since the violence started. At least 1,400 Israelis have been killed and more than 3,400 injured.

As the violence escalates each day, Abdurrahman Tamimi, a Palestinian activist from London, worries for his cousins in northern Gaza who “don’t have a safe corridor” to evacuate.

“We are all on edge, everyone is expecting bad news,” the 24-year-old said. “Now the world is counting down to a presumed ground invasion. They’re already living without water, without electricity.

“I don’t want to see my cousins’ children denied a lively and vibrant childhood.”

Omar Hajaj says he feels like ‘no one is standing with the Palestinians’ (Supplied)

Omar Hajaj, who also has relatives in Gaza, said he feels like “no one is standing with the Palestinians”.

“We feel disappointed in our politicians who are meant to represent us,” he said, as Mr Tamimi echoed this frustration claiming the UK government has “overlooked the history” of the Israel-Palestine conflict and made it a “domestic issue”.

“This is a central cause for Muslims, one of the biggest minorities in the UK,” he said. “All we have asked for is a non-biased approach and a ceasefire - nobody wants to see oppression.

“To say I’m upset, sad, or traumatised is an understatement. I’m at a huge risk of becoming desensitised now. The complete dehumanisation of Palestinian lives makes me wonder what’s next.”