Israel-Hamas war: British teacher trapped in Gaza feels ‘insignificant’ after Foreign Office said it ‘can’t do anything more’
A British school teacher from Manchester trapped in Gaza has told Sky News how she feels “insignificant” after the Foreign Office told her they “can’t do anything more” to help her leave.
Zaynab Wandawi has been in Gaza for more than three weeks with 10 members of her husband’s family.
The group travelled to the region just days before the atrocity on 7 October which sparked the current violence.
But despite her attempts to leave via the Rafah Border into Egypt, the 29-year-old teacher said they can’t get through.
It comes after a UK minister said British citizens trapped in Gaza could be classed a “hostages” amid reports foreign nationals in the Hamas-controlled territory were not being allowed to leave.
Joe Biden’s White House national security adviser meanwhile said Egypt and Israel were prepared to allow foreign nationals to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing but Hamas had not agreed to terms that would grant foreigners an opportunity to depart for Egypt.
Israel-Gaza latest: Netanyahu says ‘this is a time for war’
Messages shared with Sky News between Zaynab and a British Foreign Office official show her pleading for help.
On Saturday night, the official says: “Hi Zaynab, how are you doing for food and water? Do you have any injuries?”
She replied saying: “We don’t have much – we barely eat and drink as there’s nothing left. Water is a luxury that we are not privy to.”
Messages exchanged between Zaynab and British Foreign Office official
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) official says they aren’t hearing anything about when it (Rafah border) will be open.
Zaynab replies: “The longer we are here – the higher the chance that we will not make it to the Rafah border. I honestly don’t think they know how much our lives are at risk.”
In response, the official sends a sad face, saying: “I really don’t understand why they are taking so long.”
Sky News understands intensive diplomacy between the UK, Israel and Egypt took place this weekend to work out a plan to open the Rafah border.
Zaynab Wandawi says she is desperate to leave Gaza
Speaking to Sky News from Gaza on Monday, Zaynab said she was desperate to leave because the situation was “very scary and not safe”.
“It made me feel like they don’t even consider me a British national, it made me feel insignificant to be honest,” she said.
“I was really angry because each day that we’re still here there’s a higher chance we’ll never get out. It’s very scary, there are a lot of deaths. I don’t want to go into a lot of detail over the phone but it’s devastating.
“I’ve never witnessed anything like this in my life, it’s disgusting and not safe.”
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The messages from the Foreign Office official to Zaynab also reiterated that the British government “don’t have any staff in Gaza who can help practically” and that the authorities are doing “whatever we can” to help.
But Zaynab told Sky News she and her husband’s family have accepted the worst outcome: “I’m here with my husband and his family, it’s lovely we’re all together, but at the same time I feel like if anything happens to me all my family are in the UK, so I won’t be able to say goodbye to them, I won’t be close to them if anything happens.”
In a statement to Sky News, the FCDO said: “As the prime minister and foreign secretary have said, the safety of British nationals remains our top priority.
“We are working closely with Egypt and Israel to ensure all British nationals who want to leave Gaza can exit via the Rafah crossing or other routes as quickly as possible.
“FCDO has been keeping in close contact with British Nationals in Gaza and will continue to update them on the latest status of the crossing.”
World
Amsterdam: Police break up pro-Palestinian protest after ‘antisemitic’ violence following football game
More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters have been taken away by police during a banned demonstration in Amsterdam following “antisemitic” violence in the wake of a football game.
Hundreds of people had defied an order banning protests and gathered in the city’s Dam Square on Sunday, chanting “Amsterdam says no to genocide” and “free Palestine”.
A three-day ban on demonstrations was brought in on Friday, following violence that erupted on Thursday after a Europa League game between Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv and local side Ajax.
The ban was later extended for four more days until next Thursday.
Explained: What we know about violence in Amsterdam
Police crouched over a man during the pro-Palestinian protest. Pic: Reuters
Hundreds of people defied the order and gathered in Amsterdam. Pic: Reuters
The aftermath of the football game was marred by violence that the mayor of the Dutch city and the country’s prime minister described as antisemitic.
At a hearing challenging the protest ban, a senior police officer said it was still needed as people thought to be Jewish were targeted on Saturday night, with some being ordered out of taxis and others asked to produce their passports.
A local court ratified the ban and the people who were rounded up were put on buses and dropped off on the outskirts of the city, police spokesperson Ramona van den Ochtend said, without confirming how many had been detained.
One protester was taken to an ambulance bleeding.
After the initial violence, five people were treated in hospital and more than 60 were held by police.
The attacks followed a Palestinian flag being torn down in the Dutch city, and another being set on fire, before Maccabi Tel Aviv fans shouted anti-Arab chants as they were escorted to the game.
The initial attacks on Israeli fans were carried out by what Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema described as “hit-and-run squads”.
Prosecutors said that four suspects remained detained, including two minors, and 40 people have been fined.
Police broke up the pro-Palestinian protest in Dam Square. Pic: Reuters
Dutch police detain a pro-Palestinian protester during the banned demonstration. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
A night that ‘defied description’
Tensions began to build the day before the match when some of the 3,000 visiting Maccabi supporters had minor altercations with locals, including taxi drivers and Ajax supporters, police said.
According to officers, on Wednesday a Palestinian flag was set on fire in Dam Square, and another was pulled down from a nearby building as a taxi was also vandalised.
On game day, the Maccabi supporters chanted anti-Arab slogans including “Let the IDF win, and f*** the Arabs,” as they were escorted by police to the stadium.
A planned pro-Palestinian demonstration on Thursday was moved away from the ground to Anton de Komplein square, in an attempt to prevent any clashes, but after the game on Thursday night violence spread in the city.
Attacks broke out and police rounded up and escorted some Maccabi fans back to their hotels.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof described the violence as “antisemitic” and said it “defied description”.
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A video which was circulated on social media showed a man being chased through the street with the caption “watch and enjoy six Zionists chased away. Free Palestine”.
A statement by Amsterdam police and prosecutors said Thursday evening “was very turbulent, with several incidents of violence aimed at Maccabi supporters”.
They added: “There is no excuse for the antisemitic behaviour exhibited last night [Thursday] by rioters who actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them.”
World
Mackenzie Michalski: Irish man allegedly admits killing US nurse at Budapest flat and dumping body near lake, say police
An Irish man is suspected of killing a 31-year-old US nurse during an “intimate encounter” at his Budapest flat before dumping her body in woodland, according to police.
Hungarian police said Mackenzie Michalski, from Portland in the US state of Oregon, was killed after meeting the 37-year-old man at a nightclub while she was on holiday in the city.
Officers identified the suspect by the initials LTM and said he cleaned up his rented apartment in the Hungarian capital and put Ms Michalski’s body in a wardrobe and then into a suitcase.
He allegedly rented a car and drove 90 miles (150km) to Lake Balaton, where he is said to have disposed of the body in a wooded area near the village of Szigliget.
Police video showed the suspect guiding them to where he left the body.
Officers said he also searched online for how to dispose of a body, and about the competence of Budapest police. Police said he also conducted online searches about procedures in missing person cases, whether pigs eat dead bodies, and if there are wild boars around Lake Balaton.
He was arrested on 7 November but claimed the killing was an accident, police said.
Ms Michalski had been reported missing two days before, and the suspect was identified after CCTV showed the pair together at a nightclub, where police said they danced and left for his flat.
Pic: Facebook/Find Mackenzie Michalski
Crime scene photos show a rolling suitcase, items of clothing and a handbag next to a credit card with Ms Michalski’s name on it.
The victim’s family flew to Hungary to help find her, but on the way found out she had been killed.
“There was no reason for this to happen,” her father Bill Michalski said at a candlelight vigil in Budapest on Saturday night.
“I’m still trying to wrap my arms around what happened… I don’t know that I ever will.”
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Friends attended a candlelight memorial in the city on Saturday. Pic: AP
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Wearing a cap she had given him, Mr Michalski said his daughter had been to Budapest before and called it her “happy place”.
“The history… she just loved it and she was just so relaxed here,” he said.
A Facebook group set up last week to find Ms Michalski said she was known as “Kenzie” and worked as a nurse.
It said she would “forever be remembered as a beautiful and compassionate young woman”.
Tributes have been paid to a “brave” 22-year-old British man who was killed while fighting in Ukraine.
Callum Tindal-Draper, from Gunnislake, Cornwall, died while serving with the foreign volunteer platoon in the country’s struggle against Russia.
It is believed he was defending an observation point when he was killed on 5 November.
Callum Tindal-Draper. Pic: Handout
Callum’s mother Caroline Tindal said in a post on Facebook that “he fought till he could no longer hold them off any more”.
“His platoon are calling him a ‘hero’ and ‘as brave as they come’,” she said.
“22 is a young age. But you lived and died following your heart, soul and morals.
“May you rest in peace and help watch over those who have passed.”
Mr Tindal-Draper was a former student of Duchy College, in Stoke Climsland, Cornwall.
In a tribute on Facebook, the college’s Military and Protective Services Academy said he was a “model student” with a “strong moral compass”.
“He was a passionate, articulate and bright student, who was keen to learn,” the post said.
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“He was very proud of his family history in the services,” the post added.
“He was well-liked and respected by his peers, and was not one to shy away from causes he believed in and was instrumental in collecting the three minibus loads of humanitarian equipment for civilians that the learners gathered when the war in Ukraine initially kicked off.”
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The post said Mr Tindal-Draper worked for the NHS after finishing the course.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are aware that a British national has reportedly died in Ukraine and stand ready to assist the family in the UK.”
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