Cambridge student fears for family's survival in Gaza

Ahmed Alagha, 32, from Cambridge fears for his family in southern Gaza

A Palestinian PHD student living in Cambridge fears his family in Gaza "may not live" until he gets to travel to see them at Christmas.

Ahmed Alagha, who moved to the UK in 2017, says he "can't sleep" over concerns for his family in Khan Younis.

Israeli forces have been bombarding Gaza in response to an attack on Israel by Hamas on 7 October.

Mr Alagha said he was "devastated" to have lost family and friends in the conflict at the weekend.

The attack by Hamas, which is recognised as a terrorist organisation by the UK government, resulted in the deaths of 1,300 people in Israel and many people were taken hostage, the BBC reported.

Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said on Wednesday that the number killed in Gaza since Israel began its airstrikes 11 days ago had risen to 3,300, with a further 13,000 injured.

Mr Alagha told the BBC that six of his extended family, including two children and a close friend, were killed over the weekend while fleeing fighting in the north of Gaza.

"My friend and the family members - their children - were killed in the south part which was told to be the safe area by Israel," Mr Alagha said.

"I can't sleep at night and put an alarm for every half hour and check for any information or messages.

"If I call my family 10, 20 times, the call connects maybe once.

"I am sticking to plans of going back over Christmas break. But I don't know if they will survive."

Palestinians have been moving from the north of Gaza

The 32-year-old said the situation in Gaza was "beyond imagination" and he could hear "bombs going off in the background" while he was on the phone to his family.

Israel had warned 1.1 million people in northern Gaza to evacuate before an expected ground invasion, and on Monday said it would cut off power and water to Gaza - where about 2.3 million people live - prompting concerns about a humanitarian disaster.

Following Tuesday's explosion at Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City, which killed more than 500 people, the World Health Organization (WHO) renewed calls for urgent access to Gaza to deliver aid and medical supplies.

Israeli and Palestinian officials have blamed each other for the blast.

Mr Alagha said: "More people who are fleeing from the north are coming to our house (in the south of Gaza).

"But my mother has told me she is running out of wheat and other basic supplies.

"We are hearing aid trucks are waiting at the Egypt border. We need the international community to come forward for humanity's sake."

Earlier this week, WHO officials said the majority of hospitals in Gaza were not functioning, with water and electricity scarce.

"Concerns over dehydration and waterborne diseases are high given the collapse of water and sanitation services," the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said in a statement.

"People will start dying without water."