A Dundee PhD student and his wife have launched a bid to raise nearly £70,000 to rescue their loved ones from Gaza.
Bayan Alhasani and Nawal Abusultan both have family members stuck in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering.
The couple met as students at Dundee University after both moving separately from Gaza City.
Bayan, who is now working towards a PhD in environmental science, says that when he last spoke to his mum, who is in Rafah, she looked like a “skeleton”.
He added that seven of his family members are currently sharing a two-person tent after their home in Gaza City, 30 miles away, was destroyed.
‘This is my last chance to rescue them from Gaza’
The 30-year-old said: “This is my last chance to rescue them from Gaza.
“It is a hard situation for them.
“I hadn’t seen my mother in a video call since October.
“When I spoke to her a week ago, she was like a skeleton.
“It was difficult to see her in that situation.
“That made me decide to make a fundraiser for my family, and I need to do it also for my wife.”
Bayan’s parents and five siblings remain in the Palestinian territory as well as Nawal’s mother and her nephew and his wife.
Two of Bayan’s sisters, Saja and Sujood, both studied at university in Gaza.
He says his younger brothers Yosuf and Mohammed, and sister Almaza, have all lost that opportunity.
Nawal’s mum is a retired teacher while her nephew is a software engineer who is unable to continue his studies after bombing destroyed his university.
The couple hope to raise £70,000 to allow their families to pass through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt and pay for their living and medical expenses.
They also hope the money can help their relatives return to university and purchase passports.
The fundraising page describes how their families have been “starved, dehydrated and displaced” while “escaping from continuous bombing”.
It added that there “is no safe place” for them in the territory.
Dundee couple have already lost family and friends in Gaza conflict
Nawal wrote on the page: “Our families experienced a lot of horrific bombings and miraculously survived many times.
“We lost a lot of relatives and friends in Gaza, and we do not know who will be the next one.
“Bayan’s family house was destroyed again during this aggression.
“So, we are trying to save their lives before it’s too late.
“The complex situation is also worsening due to the lack of medical services.
“Bayan’s dad needs special medical treatment for his backbone, and that is not available in these horrific circumstances.
“His sister, Saja, needs surgery on her eyes, and this is not available at this time as well.”
Bayan told The Courier: “I have tried to save them.
“I tried to look for schemes in the UK but there weren’t any suited; this is my last chance.
“My family are from Gaza City in the north.
“They first went to another house because theirs was destroyed and then they were evacuated to Al-Rantisi hospital.
“They were then evacuated to another safe area and then to Rafah.
“A lot of my cousins are under the rubble, they have been killed.”
Bayan moved to Dundee in February 2022 to study sustainability and water security.
He met Nawal, now a programme coordinator, through university after she also travelled from Gaza City later that year, to undertake an international business and entrepreneurship degree.
She graduated in September while Bayan began his PhD course.
The couple married last year shortly before the conflict with Israel escalated following the October 7 Hamas attacks.
So far the GoFundMe page has raised nearly £4,000 towards their target.
Conversation