My little sister was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza

The author of this article is anonymous for security reasons.

GAZA CITY — An American teenager told The Daily Beast that his younger sister was killed in an airstrike in Gaza.

The family said Joud Abedalazeez Abushaban, 14, died on Wednesday after returning home to Gaza City after several days of waiting near the closed Rafah border crossing where they were trying to flee the country.

His brother, Yousof Abedalazeez Abushaban, who was born in Michigan, was also injured in the blast. “As I was returning to Gaza for a brief respite—after about six days—and preparing to return to Rafah, a nearby house was hit by a bomb,” he told The Daily Beast. “I lost my sister in the blast and was injured by shrapnel, which left me with a severe laceration on my hand.”

The Rafah crossing into Egypt has been closed since Israeli airstrikes targeted the area shortly after Hamas’ deadly incursion into Israel on October 7. Yousof is the only member of the family with a U.S. passport. He was born in the United States in 2005, while his father was working in the Midwest. The family has pleaded with U.S. authorities to help them leave the Gaza Strip, where Israel has dropped thousands of bombs since Hamas massacred more than 1,400 people.

Abedalazeez Abu Shaban, their blind father, called on the international community to stop the bombings. “Joud is only a child, why did they kill her? Why didn't they notify the building so we could save her and evacuate the house? The Israeli army is criminal and they continue to kill our children in cold blood,” he told The Daily Beast.

“I just want to demand that the world protect my family.”

A U.S. State Department spokesperson told The Daily Beast: “Out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we have nothing further to share.”

Yousof, treated at Gaza's Shifaa Hospital, said living conditions in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israel has asked civilians to take shelter from bombings, were terrible. Airstrikes also continue in supposedly safe areas. “I have ventured to the border crossing four times since the start of the war, enduring the perilous journey from Gaza. I have had to reluctantly seek refuge in UNRWA schools poorly equipped to accommodate the displaced, where 1,500 refugees are forced to share the same bathroom,” he said.

Hundreds of families rushed to hide at hospital just before blast, survivors say

Yousof is among 600 to 700 U.S. citizens stuck in the Gaza Strip who are expected to be allowed out under any agreement to reopen the Rafah crossing.

Among them is a family gathered in Gaza for a dream wedding.

It has become a nightmare.

Members of this American family who have lived all over the world – from California to Turkey – gathered in Gaza to celebrate the wedding of Zahwa Shaath, 26, who was looking forward to a traditional Palestinian wedding.

The ceremony was cancelled and the wedding dresses abandoned as the family tried to flee the bombing.

“I left without taking any of the wedding clothes. I left three large suitcases containing new clothes, perfumes and makeup, which are part of our traditional wedding outfits. I left only with the clothes I was wearing,” Zahwa told The Daily Beast.

“My husband came from Turkey for the first time in five years to the Gaza Strip to complete the wedding ceremony between family and friends, then we were supposed to return to Turkey to settle there where he works in his own private company, but the closure of the crossing left us stranded with no present or future.

Zeina, Zahwa's younger sister, explained that the family had been preparing for the wedding for ages: “We spent months preparing wedding dresses for my mother and I, and now we have left everything behind in the wedding. hope of reaching the passage.

If she is allowed to cross the Rafah crossing, Zeina hopes to reach the United States to stay with her uncle. “We want to leave Gaza and start a new life in safety,” she said.

The bride's father, Saeed Shaath, 64, is a Californian who says he has become a representative of the Americans in Gaza over the years. He moved to the Gaza Strip about 25 years ago after living and working in the United States for decades.

“I represent the American community in Gaza and I see that there are many American facilities for the evacuation of American-Israeli citizens during this war, while there is nothing they can do to evacuate Palestinian American citizens in the Strip. Gaza,” he told the Quotidien. Beast.

“More than 700 American citizens are stranded in the Gaza Strip. All these families went to the Rafah crossing, but the terminal was bombed and closed, and until now we are still in Rafah city waiting for the terminal to open.

For those seeking refuge near the border crossing, conditions continue to deteriorate as Israel imposes a blockade and cuts off electricity. Makeshift refugee shelters, such as schools and hospitals run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), are overcrowded and lack basic amenities, including water. He said downtown Rafah is rapidly running out of food and clothing, while the prices of the few remaining supplies are rising. “We fear for the coming days. How long will the crossings remain closed? Everything will run out and the situation will turn into famine,” he said.

All options for Israel in Gaza are bad

Egyptian authorities have demanded that aid to Gaza pass through the Rafah crossing before facilitating the exit of dual nationals from Gaza. They have also demanded that Israel approve a humanitarian truce of several hours before any nationals can enter.

A State Department spokesperson said: “The armed conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, making it complex for American citizens to identify departure options. The U.S. government is doing everything possible to persuade the responsible parties to open the Rafah crossing. »

Ismail Abu Shaaban, 54, a US citizen who worked in Houston, abandoned his home in western Gaza to seek shelter from the bombings with his four daughters, two of whom are in school and two in college.

“I can’t believe that the US government can’t pressure Israel to allow the evacuation of 700 Americans who only need one hour of operational work at the terminal? Our administration supports Israel with billions of dollars. How come it can’t pressure them to set up a humanitarian corridor?”

Not all U.S. citizens are trying to get by. Adel Al-Qadoumi, 62, says he will stay to continue his work for an organization that helps refugees and people affected by the war in Gaza, even as he worries about the health of his family, including his grandchildren, Ruaa and Adel (pictured).

“Even as aid workers, we can’t move around Gaza and northern Gaza for fear of being bombed,” he told The Daily Beast. “We have aid in the shops, but we can’t go and distribute it to refugees in UNRWA schools.”

Al-Qadoumi criticized President Joe Biden's recent visit to Israel, where he supported the Israeli government. “Biden is a liar. He uses American citizens' money to support Israeli crimes; he could use this money to support the peace process. He supports the cleansing against the Palestinians,” he said.

He said conditions would get worse if the Israeli blockade continued: “People here will die either from thirst, from diseases that will spread among the refugees, or from hunger due to lack of food and poverty. »

For more, visit The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast’s biggest scoops and scandals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and enjoy unlimited access to The Daily Beast’s unrivaled reporting. Subscribe now.