A local couple’s trip to see family recently took a terrifying turn, leaving the pair trapped in Gaza with their baby while the current war between Israel and Hamas continues.
As millions of people are told to evacuate Gaza, Wafaa Abuzayda and her family are now begging for help.
“Please save us,” she told NPR. “We have been trying to call the embassy since Saturday. Nobody is helping. Nobody is getting back to us.”
Abuzayda is from Medway. She was in Gaza visiting family with her husband and one-year-old child when the war broke out over the weekend.
With supplies cut to and from the region, the family has been running out of diapers and formula.
“It’s not safe,” Abuzayda said. “Yesterday, it was like a horrible night. We couldn’t sleep at all.”
US officials estimate Abuzayda’s family is among upwards of 600 Americans stuck in Gaza.
Back in Massachusetts, family friend Sammy Nabulsi is one of many working to get Abuzayda and her family home.
“They are Massachusetts residents,” Nabulsi said. “They are Massachusetts taxpayers. They’re Massachusetts employees. They live here. We need to be doing everything we can to get them back now and safely.”
“This would be a national tragedy, frankly, if it cannot be figured out,” Nabulsi continued.
In Gaza, ongoing airstrikes have made evacuations almost impossible.
US officials say they are working to get Americans to safety. Nabulsi, though, says the plan to actually help people within Gaza remains uncertain.
“I heard from Senator Warren’s office a little bit ago. Their message to me said that ‘At this time, we have not received any information from the State Department about an evacuation plan for Americans in Gaza,’” Nabulsi said. “So, frankly, I don’t know that there is enough being done.”
7NEWS tried to get in touch with Abuzayda and her family on Friday but was unable to due to power and service being very limited.
Nabulsi said the family was evacuating south and, just a few hours before 5 p.m., made it to a location near the Egyptian border.
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