A University student in Glasgow has told how she watched on Instagram as her family home in Gaza was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike.
Farida Alghoul, an English teacher, came to Scotland last year to study for a masters degree in education at the University of Glasgow.
Her family traces its heritage back to Hirbiya, which was depopulated by Israeli forces in 1948 and incorporated into the new state. Today two kibbutzim, Zikim and Karmia, stand on the land where the village once was.
Ms Alghoul's family was eventually displaced into Gaza in 1967, and they remain in the occupied territory today.
On Thursday, June 6, she awoke in Glasgow to the news her family home in Sheikh Radwan, Gaza City, had been destroyed by an Israeli strike, killing two tenants and badly injuring several members of her family.
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Ms Alghoul tells The Herald: "A friend called me and said: 'Farida, open Instagram and look at the news'.
"I asked her, terrified: 'Why? What happened?'. But she could not explain. She only said: 'Open it, and you will understand.'.
"I opened the news, and my heart broke. I saw my mother amid fire and smoke, screaming for help while saving her children. Her voice echoed - fighting to save what she could as flames consumed our home.
"In that moment, I felt my own heart burn. Powerless and far from my family in danger, all I could do was cry and pray.
"In the videos that spread, my mother’s voice was clearly heard as she called for help. She was crying out from the middle of the fire, trying to save her children and help the children who had lost their parents, while the flames moved faster and faster.
"My mother was in a situation no human being should ever have to face. Who do you save first? Who do you reach first? How can a mother see her children surrounded by fire and not be able to carry them all in her arms?
"I still remember her voice and her words as if I were hearing them now. She begged people to save my siblings and the children, to put out the fire, and to rescue whatever was left. But the fire was faster than everyone."
Abu Yazan Kalb and his wife were killed in the strike, with their five children all badly burned.
Ms Alghoul's brother, Adeep, suffered severe burns and required urgent treatment, while another sibling Reem also needed care.
Her sister, Diana, bore witness to the event.
Diana said: “Can you imagine how painful it was? That night was terrifying. Panic filled the place after what happened and because of the people’s reaction. They were begging my brother Adeep to hold on, while my mother was desperately waiting for us to be found and rescued.
"After hours, they pulled my brother out from under the rubble, where he had been trapped on the upper floor. Thank Allah, my brother Adeep and my sister Reem survived. Allah willing, they will recover.”
All Farida Alghoul could do was watch, horrified, through her phone screen thousands of miles away in Glasgow.
She recalls: "I saw my mother screaming. I saw our house burning. I knew my siblings were there, but I could not run to them, hold them, or help them.
"Though far away, my heart was with them in the fire and smoke. Helpless, I cried and prayed to Allah for their safety.
"This pain is hard to explain. To be present in heart but absent in body breaks you inside.
"Diana’s pain was different - she was there, living the fear, hearing screams, waiting while our siblings were trapped. Even close, she often felt helpless, able only to pray and wait.
"We not only lost walls. We lost a home that carried our lives.
"We lost memories, furniture, clothes, documents, photos, and small personal things that meant everything. They were our lives, our childhoods, and our past.
"We lost our sense of safety. Home was comfort and protection. In a moment, it was gone.
"My family lost stability, and the children lost their home. Adeep, Reem, and Diana now carry memories of that night that will last a long time.
"Some things can be replaced, but others are lost forever: a photo, the smell of home, a room we shared, and the peace we once knew.
"What my family lived through did not only wound the body. It also wounded the heart. My mother cannot forget the screams of that night. Diana cannot forget the moments of waiting and fear. Adeep and Reem carry the pain of injury and trauma. And I carry the pain of watching from far away and not being able to help."
Since October 7 attacks in 2023 more than 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed.
That figure, which has been broadly acknowledged by Israel, is likely higher with bodies still trapped under rubble and the near-total collapse of the health system making counting difficult.
As of the end of May the Gaza health ministry put the number of injured at close to 173,000, while United Nations agencies estimate the vast majority of Gaza's pre-war population has been displaced at least once, amounting to some 1.7million people.
Ms Alghoul says: "My family’s story is not just a headline or a statistic. Behind every bombed home, there are faces, names, memories, dreams, mothers, and children.
"Behind the word 'injured' is my brother Adeep. Behind the word 'survivors' are my sisters, Reem and Diana. Behind the word 'displaced' are my mother and my family. Behind every image of a destroyed home, there was once a full life.
"We do not want our story to be forgotten. We want people to know that what happened to us is real, that the pain continues, and that the need for help is still urgent.
"Despite everything that happened, we are trying to hold on to faith. My mother’s words, 'Sufficient for us is Allah, and He is the best Disposer of affairs', are still with us.
"We do not say these words because we do not feel pain. We say them because the pain is greater than our strength, and because we believe Allah sees our suffering.
"We need treatment for the injured, especially Adeep, Reem, and the children who survived the fire. We need a safe shelter. We need food, water, medicine, clothes, and psychological and educational support for the children.
"This appeal is not just a story. It is my family’s life. Any help, no matter how small, can make a difference. It can help treat a wound, provide medicine, secure a safe place, or bring a little hope back to a family that lost everything in one moment.
"I ask everyone who reads these words to see my family as real people, not as passing news. We are still trying to survive."
A fundraiser for Farida's family and others in Gaza is available here.
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