A family of five Palestinian-Americans, all US citizens, are stuck in Gaza with limited supplies and electricity after being unable to cross the border with Egypt on Monday, their family member told CNN.
Four brothers — Hesham, Jamal, Esam and Nezam Kaoud — are stuck in Gaza, along with Esam’s 20-year-old son Ameer, Hesham’s wife, Haifa Kaoud told CNN.
The brothers went to Gaza at the end of September to visit a family member and explore Gaza with Esam’s 20-year-old son, who had never left the United States, according to Haifa.
“They all wanted to make the vacation special for Ameer,” Haifa said. “The poor kid has never left the US and now he’s stuck in this situation.”
Family members in California and Texas are now desperately trying to find ways to bring their loved ones back home, Haifa told CNN.
“We told them that news reports said that Egypt will open their borders, so they drove down to Rafah on Monday and waited for hours, but it never opened,” Haifa said. “They don’t have much electricity or internet access, so they depend on us for information.”
The brothers are currently sheltering with a family member in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza.
“The water is not clean and even though they still have food, they make sure not to eat too much so there’s enough for everyone," Haifa said. "One of the brothers also takes heart medication and they’re concerned about that lasting, too."
In addition to driving to the border with Egypt, Hesham’s older brother, Jamal also reached out to the US Embassy in Jerusalem on behalf of the family but only received an email acknowledging that the embassy was looking into the matter, Haifa said.
The Kaoud family has been in the United States for more than 50 years and most of its members have settled in California — except for Hesham and Haifa, who opened Milano’s Pizzeria in Waxahachie, Texas, more than six years ago, Haifa said.
The couple share two adult sons and an 8-year-old daughter, and it’s been hard to handle the family business while trying to figure out how to help her husband at the same time, Haifa told CNN.
“I’m trying to be strong and handle everything back home, but today after the border didn’t open, I felt down and hopeless. I don’t know what to do. I was a little bit strong until yesterday.”
