'It's totally destroyed': Palestinians in Scotland mourn for Gaza

For the first time in more than a year, the skies over the Middle East have fallen silent.

But the Israel-Hamas ceasefire has left Gazans in Scotland questioning what remains of their homeland and whether they will ever return.

Isra’a Al-Jaish came to Scotland in 2022 after winning a scholarship to study at St Andrews University. She was offered a job at the university after graduating, just days before the Hamas October 7 attacks.

15 months of intense fighting followed in the Gaza strip, displacing an estimated 90% of the local population and killing more than 46,000 Palestinians. On January 19, a ceasefire brought an end to that fighting.

Isra’a told STV News: “I was glued to the news. We followed everything.

“There’s a voice inside us going ‘is this real? Is this really happening?’ There is a fear inside each Gazan, each Palestinian, because we don’t want to give hope to ourselves and then this vanishes.”

Isra'a Al-Jaish works at St Andrews University after graduating with a degree in International Education — Isra’a Al-Jaish works at St Andrews University after graduating with a degree in International Education STV News

As she comes to terms with the news of a ceasefire, Isra’a says only now does she feel properly able to grieve for loved ones killed in the fighting.

“I know I will never see my grandma again,” she said. “I will never see my cousins.

“I know I will never go to Gaza to have my favourite place be there, to have my favourite restaurant, to have my job back there, I know that this will not be returned to us.

“There is no fire, there is no bombing around but there is actually so much crying and screaming that was stuck inside.”

Isra'a has brought her daughter Marlin, 6, over to live with her in Scotland — Isra’a has brought her daughter Marlin, 6, over to live with her in Scotland STV News

She continued: “We didn’t even have the luxury to start crying or even support our loved ones.

“Once the bombing now is silent, the grief now has the space to be let out.”

During the conflict, Isra’a managed to move her daughter Marlin over to Scotland with her.

The six-year-old now attends school in Dundee, and has already settled in with her classmates.

Isra’a said: “She loves it because she can play and draw and things.

“I’m really grateful, she now speaks really good English – and I mean Scottish-English.

“The only thing I was afraid of was the weather, but she really don’t feel cold at any point. She keeps telling me she doesn’t want to wear her jumper!”

Marlin, 6, now attends school in Dundee STV News

Isra’a has claimed asylum for both her and her daughter, with her graduate visa running out this time next year.

One day, she hopes to return to Gaza, but fears the place she grew up is gone forever.

She said: “We’re brought up with this emotion, this feeling of ‘I want to go back.’ But, for sure, it doesn’t make sense to anyone to say ‘I want to go back to Gaza’ now.

“It’s totally destroyed. You can’t even imagine. There’s nothing left.

“My home, with my brothers and my mum, all of our memories there of over 30 years, are on the ground. It has vanished. It’s totally destroyed.

“There are so many people losing their houses, how will they live? How can young people have access to education? How will those people go and work?

“There’s so many things to ask, so many things to be wondering about. I want to go back but I don’t know how, I don’t know when.”