A PALESTINIAN family now living in Blackburn have told of their heartache at seeing the dozens of people killed in the latest conflict.

Israel and Palestine have agreed a ceasefire, but at the cost of lifeless bodies and rising tensions for the welfare of civilians.

Hana moved from Palestine five years ago to be with her husband, Ismail.

She said the troubles of her homeland have left mental scars on her.

After World War Two, the British Empire controlled Palestine and established it as a new settling place for many displaced Jewish people.

In 1948, as opposing sides could not reach a settlement, the British withdrew and the Jewish leaders created Israel, forcing many Palestinian families out of their homes.

By 1949, Jordan occupied land which became known as the West Bank, and Egypt occupied Gaza while Jerusalem is divided.

Hana, from Bethlehem, said: “I remember one day my family and I spent all day laying on the floor because they were shooting anyone if they saw them moving in their homes, even opening a window.

“My mum was born in what is now Israel and my dad in Palestine in Bethlehem and after 2002, she was not allowed to be there anymore due to the new law.

“I had to move to the West Bank alone at 16, because I had a Palestinian ID like my dad, so I couldn’t stay in their territory.

“So, all my family live in different places and still cannot visit each other. Can you imagine never seeing them again?”

One of Hana’s brothers has an Israeli ID and she says he is able to travel anywhere, but the brother with a Palestinian ID cannot leave.

“This is not a conflict, we have been suffering with massacres for more than 72 years.”

Once she moved to the West Bank, Hana could not travel around without permission at the checkpoints.

She said: “You are encaged in a tunnel for as long as they want to make you wait.

“There is a wall around us where we lived, it’s 20 metres high. I woke up to that every day of my life. It’s still there now.

“They would go to the houses of Arab families and mark them, and then later at night the family will be attacked and kicked out their homes. They don’t care if you are a woman or there are children. They kill all.”

The wall Hana describes is around the West Bank, where Palestinians reside.

She said: “We cannot even go to visit Masjid Aqsa, you need special permission.

“If you even put your hands in your pockets, the soldiers have permission to shoot you.”

“Within the wall, they control your every movement. I couldn’t even get water without permission or even electricity was when they decided to give it to us.”

Hana recalls being without water for a week and kept bottles for the week they didn’t have any.

She said: “If we complain about it, we are seen as anti-Semitic, but this is not against Judaism.

“In Palestine, we have Muslim and Christian people, so this has nothing to do with religion, it is not a Muslim country.

“Over 55 children have been killed in the last eight days and nobody is talking about it.

“The people of Palestine have no basic human rights, how would you react if this happened to you?”

Hana goes back every year, but it takes her over 10 hours as she is detained every time but going back to visit is important to her.

Both Hana and Ismail have families including their parents still living in Palestine. They are not hurt, but the couple are worried about their safety every day.

Hana said: Our families are physically okay but mentally they are not. They are under military control, we need to free Palestine.”