A Palestinian single mother living in the UK has said she feels “helpless” as her young daughter remains trapped in Gaza suffering “psychological trauma” amid a brief reprieve from the sound of bombing.
Israa Aljaish came to Scotland in September 2022 to study for a Masters degree in International Education at the University of St Andrews, and had to leave five-year-old Marlin in the care of her grandmother, Amal Aljaish.
Ms Aljaish, 29, who currently lives in Dundee, said she graduated in August and took a job as a postgraduate administrator with the university at the start of October, with plans to bring her daughter to the UK when the Israel-Hamas war erupted just days later.
Ms Aljaish told the PA news agency: “I’m here and I can see my daughter is dying every passing day and I’m here doing nothing, I just see that in front of my eyes.
“I know she has faced some psychological trauma because of the noise of the bombing next to the place they are sheltering in.
“It’s not Marlin – as I know Marlin – it’s not the same person I knew before.”
Ms Aljaish said her daughter has been suffering nightmares as a result of the conflict, saying: “She hears so many stories and she has terrible nightmares – she told me one of the nightmares was that she saw blood on my head.”
She added that her daughter and mother are currently sheltering in a flat with her three brothers, her sister-in-law, her two nieces and her nephew.
“My mum has the paternal responsibility for Marlin so she should have the right to leave Gaza with her but I still don’t know how this would work,” she said.
“I’m hoping my mum will be able to get to Egypt with her and then I can meet them there.”
Ms Aljaish’s fundraiser, organised by one of her friends in the UK, has reached its target and raised more than £3,000 which prompted her to close the donations page for the time being.
PA has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.
– To find out more, visit: gofundme.com/f/reunite-israa-with-her-daughter-in-gaza
