Palestinan refugee in County Durham worried for future of Gaza
24 year-old Lina Najjar fled to Egypt but is now studying in Durham
Last updated 1st May 2025
A Palestinian refugee in County Durham says she has her fingers are crossed for a brighter future for Gaza as some of her family is still there.
It comes as the first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas expired on Saturday.
2\4 year-old Lina Najjar fled to Egypt before coming to the UK to study economics at Durham University.
She said: "I have been through many unimaginable situations and have lived through so many repeated military operations, wars and conflicts.
"I mean the idea of leaving my beloved city Gaza was really hard for me because I lost two houses there, one in the north and one in the city centre. We lost our source of income, my dad's pharmacy and also my mother used to work as a school principal and we lost the school. Every form of life we once had in Gaza has gone.
"I lived in Gaza and I talk a lot about the lack of life in Gaza but that doesn't necessarily mean I hate Gaza and I hate living in Gaza. This is my beloved city. If I get the chance to get back to Gaza after finishing my degree I will return to Gaza and start working on developmental economic projects. We will rebuild Gaza.
"We left Gaza by paying to the Egyptian Government per person $5,000, so you can say a lot about the Egyptian Government imposing for a Gazan person and we know how the economy is in Gaza, so imposing that amount of money to let people survive the genocide is something horrific.
"I'm really terrified about what's happening back in Gaza. It was such a relief hearing the news about the ceasefire. It was like a big day for me. After us spending 15-months of being nervous and anxious about what's going. It was really hard thinking all that time about my family in Gaza.
"I was super happy about hearing about the ceasefire but after the ceasefire they're still targeting civilians, so i'm still worried about what will happen and the future with US President Trump policies. I'm really worried about what will happen, what's the future for Gazan people? What will happen? Nobody knows.
"I'll stay optimistic about the future and I'll look at the brighter side of the future and hopefully there will be some reconstruction work, some collaborative actions from neighbouring countries, so I hope the UN allows the reconstruction projects."