An American soldier's mother and uncle are smuggled out of Gaza during a secret military operation after hiding in a building with no food and only SEWAGE to drink
The mother and uncle of an American soldier were smuggled out of Gaza during a covert military operation after hiding in a building without food and drinking water to survive.
Zahra Sckak, 44, and her brother-in-law, Farid Sukaik, both US citizens, were safely rescued from Gaza on Sunday evening, a US official confirmed to the Associated press under the condition of anonymity.
The covert operation was coordinated by the United States, Israel and Egypt, the US official said on Wednesday.
The covert military operation involving the US citizen and her relative from Gaza is the only known operation of its kind since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the US official added.
“The United States played only a liaison and coordination role between the Sckak family and the governments of Israel and Egypt,” the official said.
Sckak's husband, Abedalla Sckak, could not be saved when the building they were fleeing from was hit by an airstrike last month, killing him.
One of the couple's three sons, 24-year-old Spec. Ragi A. Sckak serves as an infantryman in the United States Army.
Zahra Sckak, 44, and her brother-in-law, Farid Sukaik, a U.S. citizen, were rescued from Gaza during a covert military operation on Sunday evening, a U.S. official confirmed, speaking on condition of anonymity, the Associated Press and Military.com reported.
The Sckak family of father Abedalla (far left) with his wife Zahra (far right) and their three young sons who are all US citizens. Abedalla was killed last month while trying to flee from a building he was hiding in with his wife, who miraculously survived and was rescued on Sunday.
A building destroyed in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday by Israeli airstrikes on the city of Rafah
It remains unclear at this time about the health status of Sckack and Sukaik.
There were few immediate details of the operation on the ground.
The official said the extraction involved the Israeli military and local Israeli officials who police Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and that there was no sign that U.S. officials were on the ground in Gaza.
During the first days of the war, more than half of residents fled to Egypt through the Rafah crossing from northern and central Gaza, but the mother of three was stuck in the region as heavy fighting continued.
Sckack and Sukaik were trapped in a building surrounded by Hamas fighters with little food and only sewage to drink.
The grim circumstances were revealed by a family member, a group of US-based lawyers and US-based citizen groups, who called for their release.
Members of the Sckack family have appealed several times to Congress and the Biden administration ahead of their release this week.
Before the release of his mother and relative Fadi Sckak, a Palestinian-American appeared ABC news advocated for the release of his loved ones.
He talked about the limited contact he has with his mother and said she has to go to the roof of the building to receive reception. He told me how scared she is.
He also said his uncle suffers from a serious heart condition that requires surgery.
'Every waking moment I worry about my mother's safety and I can't bear to lose her. I have already lost my father because of this conflict.'
Zahra Sckak's son spoke to ABC News about his mother, who was stuck in Gaza at the time, and uncle, a U.S. citizen. The pair were safely rescued from Gaza on Sunday evening during a covert military operation
Abedalla Sckak, 56, was killed last month after being shot during the fighting in Gaza. He is the father of three American sons, including an American soldier
A cat is seen above the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike
According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 300 American citizens remain in Gaza.
As the humanitarian crisis escalates and fighting in the region intensifies, it is becoming almost impossible for many who remain to reach the Egyptian border crossing from Gaza.
Sunday will mark three months since Hamas infiltrated parts of southern Israel in the massacre of 1,200 people and 240 hostages.
Since the unprovoked attack, Israel has responded aggressively with daily Israeli airstrikes and ground combat to eliminate all of Hamas and release the remaining hostages.
More than 100 hostages were released during a temporary ceasefire, but about 129 remain in captivity.
The vast majority of people who managed to leave northern and central Gaza into Egypt via the Rafah border crossing fled south in the first weeks of the war. An escape from the heart of Palestinian territory through intense fighting has since become much more dangerous and difficult.