Yorkshire charity worker missing in Gaza

FRIENDS of a charity worker from West Yorkshire, thought to be on board the flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza, have spoken of their anxious wait to hear from her following an attack.

Several British nationals have been detained by Israeli authorities, according the Foreign Office. Consulate officials were "urgently seeking access" to the Britons being held in the the town of Be'er Sheva.

It is believed that as many as 28 people from the UK were taking part in the aid effort when it came under fire. Foreign Office sources said many of those detained had refused to give their names to the Israelis, making it hard to give firm numbers of Britons involved.

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It was confirmed earlier that one Briton was injured in the attack and had received medical treatment.

Parveen Yaqub, from Honley, near Huddersfield, was believed to be one of those on the Turkish ship the Mavi Marmara when it was boarded overnight en route from Cyprus to Gaza. Ms Yaqub, 39, who works for Oldham Council, was reported to have written about the attack on Monday on her Facebook page.

Jackie Stanton, deputy leader of Oldham Council, said: "We are currently trying to obtain further information regarding Parveen. Our thoughts go out to Parveen and her family and we hope she is safe and well."

Friend Noreen Sheikh-Latif, from Slaithwaite, said Ms Yaqub, whose elderly parents are believed to live in Manchester, had flown out to Istanbul last week to help take aid to Palestine. She said: "Paveen had been saying that they were very conscious that they were being followed by the Israeli warships. On her Facebook page she was saying that she could see helicopters flying overhead. In another one she said she thought there was something going on up on the deck."

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Another Briton reported to be on board the boat is 26-year-old Mohammed Bhaiyat, from Bradford. His father, Ziauddin Bhaiyat, said he had not heard from his son.

"It is a big shock. We are obviously very stressed out and really emotional at the moment with the way we do not know exactly where he is," Mr Bhaiyat said. "He just went there to give humanitarian aid to people who have nothing."

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "The consulate is heading to Be'er Sheva where we understand British nationals are being detained." She added that staff in the country were "urgently seeking access to British nationals".