AN INVERCLYDE Palestinian woman whose brothers are caught up in the conflict in Gaza has told how she fears she will never see them again as fighting rages on in the war-torn region.

Maha Eljamala, 57, who has lived in Inverclyde for nearly 30 years, says she feels helpless at the plight of her siblings.

She insists there has to be a proper ceasefire and peace in Gaza.

Greenock Telegraph:

Echoing the words of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Maha told the Telegraph: "It is beyond genocide.

"In Gaza we are watching women and children being killed in front of our eyes.

"My brothers have been displaced for the third time, they were told to move from the North to Rafah which is the border between Gaza and Egypt.

"There is no food, no water, no electricity. I haven't been able to speak to them for two days because the internet was cut.

"Every day I wake up and worry if they are still alive, or if it will be the last time I speak to them." 

Maha, a maths teacher, came to the UK with her husband Faisal Ramadan, a surgeon who specialises in urology at Inverclyde Royal Hospital, in 1995.

Greenock Telegraph:

Maha's brothers Nael, 62, a civil engineer, and Hussam, 50, a computer engineer, have six children and two grandchildren between them.

Tearful Maha said: "They have lost their livelihoods, their homes, they are all living together in huts.

"I told them that I don't feel comfortable about them all living together - but they said, 'At least we will all die together'."

Faisal, 63, said: "We managed to transfer some money to her brothers to buy mattresses, blankets, the Mediterranean winter is very cold and people have fled with whatever they were wearing.

"There is no way out, the border to Egypt is closed, even during the 'good times' it was almost impossible.

"It is random bombardment, it is civilians, women and children who are being killed.

"More than 20,000 have been killed in the last two months. They [Israeli forces] are dropping 2,000 lb bombs and buildings with 200 or 300 people inside are collapsing.

They are all civilians, 70 per cent are women and children.

"They say they are targeting terrorists, no, these are our families our neighbours, they are not militants or terrorists."

Maha added: "My older brother is asthmatic and he only has enough medication to last two weeks.

"I lost a cousin, his wife, children, grandchildren, there were 40 of them in one building, they have still not recovered the bodies.

"This is not about the 7th October, this is about 75 years of occupation."

The couple have brought their daughters Rasha, 34, Marah, 30, and Nour, 24, up in Inverclyde and they attended local schools and all have good careers.

Faisal said: "There were very few other people of colour when we came here, my daughters were easily recognised at school but everyone was very friendly.

"I have never experienced any problems at all with racism or harassment here."

Maha works with the refugees in Inverclyde as a pupil support assistant for New Scots in four high schools and now feels she is giving back to the community that welcomed her.

She said: "I know how they feel and I want to give them the support I needed. The children call me Auntie Maha."

A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in London said: "The events of October 7th were on an unspeakable scale and level of brutality.

"Thousands of Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israeli territory from Gaza in order to kill, rape, torture and behead as many Israelis and Jews as they could find.

"They murdered 1,200 and kidnapped over 240 innocent people, taking them as hostages into Gaza. There can be no justification for murderous terrorism.

"Israel has a moral duty and indeed a legal obligation to respond to such acts of terrorism in order to protect its citizens. Israel only targets Hamas terrorists, infrastructure and capabilities.

"However, Hamas uses innocent Palestinians as human shields by conducting its terrorist operations from civilian sites including hospitals, schools, mosques. Every innocent loss of life is a tragedy and Israel does its utmost to minimise civilian casualties by dropping millions of leaflets, sending text messages and making phone calls to the local Gazan population, giving advance warning of any strikes.

"Israel has also created an intricate grid system in the South in order to facilitate the evacuation of Palestinians from areas where Hamas terrorists are operating. Israel has also facilitated large amounts of humanitarian aid and since October 7th has even established two new water pipes into Gaza, providing Gazans with over 28 million litres of water daily.

"Israel has helped to facilitate this aid in spite of the fact that Hamas steals any such resources from its own people. On top of this, during the October 7th attacks, Hamas destroyed nine of the ten power lines that Israel was using to help supply Gazans.

"Following October 7th, the leadership of Hamas said that they would carry out such murderous attacks 'again and again'.

"Therefore, provided Hamas continues to govern Gaza, violence will be synonymous with the region and Palestinians and Israelis alike will continue to suffer.

"In the interest of peace, all Israeli hostages must be brought home and the threat of Hamas must be eradicated."

Maha and husband Faisal say they both hope for peace between the Israeli and Palestinian communities, allowing them to live side by side, and for the political will to make this happen.

Maha said: "There is always hope."