THOUSANDS OF pounds have been raised for victims in Gaza following prayers at Dundee Central Mosque.

Gatherers who congregated on Friday donated a total of £5430 to help towards medical and humanitarian aid for the war-torn territory.

Over 560 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive, in response to rocket attacks, 11 days ago.

The Red Cross have admitted that the region faces a full humanitarian crisis.

Nadia El-Nakla, one of the main organisers of the fund-raiser, has family in Gaza. She said, “They have no place to hide.

“No home is safe and when the darkness of night falls the terror intensifies as the electricity is cut along with water and all form of communications.

“We must show our backing for the people of Palestine, that we are against Israel’s use of extreme force.

“It is paramount that Dundee voices its support for the people in Gaza, especially due to our historic twinning with the Palestinian city Nablus.”

Tayside For Justice In Palestine plans to unite various faith and community groups to help work together for peace in the Palestinian area and urges people to attend a national demonstration being held in Edinburgh on January 10.

Tayside For Justice In Palestine member Faizel Hussein said, “We decided to unify our efforts on Saturday and concentrate on the protest in the capital, however we will hopefully organise something in Dundee over the next few weeks.”