British family freed after Gaza kidnap ordeal

British aid worker Kate Burton and her parents were whisked out of the Gaza Strip by diplomats early today, hours after being released by Palestinian gunmen who abducted the family.

Ms Burton, 24, a worker with the Al-Mezan human rights group in Gaza, was seized at gunpoint on Wednesday with her parents, Hugh, 73 and Helen, 55, of Newbury, Berkshire, in the southern town of Rafah. The couple had come to Gaza on holiday to visit their daughter, officials said.