Plea to help families flee Gaza to join relatives in UK
- Published
Dr Lubna Hadoura is worried about her family in Gaza
A Scots Palestinian doctor whose family are stuck in Gaza is calling on the UK government to help them escape the war zone.
Dr Lubna Hadoura, who lives and works as a surgeon in Fife, says British citizens should be able to sponsor dependants so they can flee.
Her elderly mother, three sisters, their husbands and children are trapped - some in Gaza city, others in Rafah.
The UK government says it is helping people leave Gaza - but Dr Hadoura believes more needs to be done.
"What I'm asking the British government to do is put up some scheme similar to the family scheme that was operated with the Ukraine war allowing British citizens to reunite with their family that are not British citizens," she said.
"Me and the rest of the family are more than capable of supporting them and accommodating them so we will not be using any public funding whatsoever, but I want the assistance in getting them here."
More on Israel-Gaza war
Hamas gunmen attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages.
The Israeli military responded with air strikes on Gaza, and launched a ground offensive. The Hamas-run Gaza government says 20,000 people have been killed in the military campaign.
The UN estimates that 1.9 million of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have fled or lost their homes, and there is growing concern about the limited scope for aid agencies to help them.
Dr Hadoura said her 79-year-old mother Raeesa Albahnasawi has had to move seven times since October, despite health and mobility issues.
She said communication was extremely difficult and that she did not know what the food and drink situation was, and whether or not her mother had her medication.
"I cannot describe how worried I am. The fact that we have not heard from one of my sisters for three weeks just shatters me."
Raeesa Albahnasawi has had to move seven times since October
And she added: "The feeling of helplessness is enormous.
"Even though I'm putting up with this, I don't know how much longer I can."
Dr Hadoura said that some other countries had come up with schemes which allowed citizens who had family in Gaza to get their relatives out.
She said she was happy to sponsor her family to come to the UK.
The UK government said more than 270 British nationals and their dependants had so far left Gaza so far, and that any dependants of British citizens who needed a visa could apply for one.
"We are working around the clock to get the rest of those out who want to leave," it said.
"We have a team on the ground in Cairo and at the Rafah crossing providing consular assistance."
But Dr Hadoura said the situation in Gaza made it impossible for her family to get a visa and that the current application system was not fit for purpose.
She added that Palestinians could not get through to access the consular services in Egypt without a foreign passport or a visa.