A Massachusetts family has found themselves stranded in Gaza for weeks amid the ongoing conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas militants. Their dire situation has been compounded by the lack of essential resources, leaving them without adequate access to food, water, fuel, and connectivity, as they desperately seek a way back home.

Who are Abood Okal and Wafa Abuzayda?

The couple in question, Abood Okal and Wafa Abuzayda, along with their 1-year-old son, Yousef, had been visiting family in Gaza when the unexpected eruption of violence occurred on October 7. Initially scheduled to return to their home in Medway, Massachusetts, on October 13, they found themselves trapped in a region engulfed in chaos and danger.

Sammy Nabulsi, a close friend and attorney for the family, shed light on their precarious situation, describing it as “extremely dangerous and dire,” with each passing day worsening their plight.

Nabulsi highlighted the challenges the family faced, stating, “Currently, the family is staying in a single-family home with 40 other people taking shelter. They’re having to sleep on the floor, as they’ve been doing for a little over two weeks. Their chief concern has been access to water.”

The scarcity of water was just one of their struggles. With limited access to fuel, their ability to pump and filter water became severely compromised, leaving them with no choice but to consume untreated saltwater for sustenance.

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In addition to the water scarcity, the family faced a severe shortage of food supplies, waiting in long lines for hours to secure basic essentials such as bread. Yousef, their 1-year-old, faced particular nutritional challenges, having run out of milk, with no immediate prospects of finding more in the region.

Their ordeal was compounded by the imminent dangers of living in a conflict zone. Abood Okal, in an audio message relayed through Nabulsi, recounted the harrowing experiences of witnessing multiple airstrikes in close proximity to their temporary residence, heightening their fears and vulnerabilities.

The escalating violence and deteriorating conditions underscored the urgency of their situation, as they struggled to maintain even the most basic necessities for their survival.

Stranded and Abandoned

Despite their efforts to seek assistance from the U.S. government and diplomatic missions, the family expressed a sense of abandonment, having received no concrete information or aid for their evacuation. Nabulsi, frustrated by the lack of response from the U.S. authorities, emphasized the stark disparity between the efforts made to evacuate Americans from Israel and those stranded in Gaza.

According to him, “A citizen is a citizen, is a citizen. Shouldn’t matter which side of the wall they’re on. They are entitled to safety and security by their own government.”

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Efforts to leave Gaza were repeatedly thwarted, despite being provided with specific dates and times for potential evacuations. Each attempt was met with roadblocks and bureaucratic obstacles, leaving them at the mercy of a complex geopolitical stalemate involving Israel, Egypt, and the Hamas government.

The family’s dependence on vehicular access to the Rafah Crossing was hampered by the depletion of their fuel supply, forcing them to consider a perilous journey on foot with their young child.