Text messages of terrified Australian stranded in Gaza with his wife and two young children revealed – as they are relentlessly bombed by Israeli missiles

A desperate text message from an Adelaide family trapped in Gaza reveals how they narrowly ‘escaped death’ several times and have become physically ill from the stress of living in a war zone.

The parents and their two children, aged seven and 10, traveled to Gaza two weeks ago to visit their Palestinian family for the first time in 12 years.

But the trip took a nightmarish turn when Hamas terrorists attacked towns in southern Israel on Saturday, killing 1,300 civilians in the darkest day for the Jewish state since the Holocaust.

In response, Israel has launched a barrage of rocket attacks on the Gaza Strip, which are estimated to have killed around 1,100 Palestinians.

The father of the family, who has remained anonymous for their safety, said the house next door to his father-in-law’s house exploded moments before they fled.

They are now staying at his parents’ house in the south near the border with Egypt.

“A few hours after we arrived, the neighborhood got a warning that a soccer field was going to be bombed, so everyone evacuated,” he told Daily Telegraph.

“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) bombed not only the football field, but also the building next to my in-laws, we just escaped.

He said the family believed they would die in several bomb attacks, with some falling as far as 100 meters away.

The stress of the situation has made the seven-year-old and his wife physically ill.

“My daughter especially has panic attacks and gets physically sick, she’s been pooping all the time,” he said.

(My wife) is very stressed, she is vomiting and has diarrhea and high fever as well. We can’t go to the doctor and we can’t leave the house.’

The family repeatedly called the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) hotline to arrange a safe route home, but faced several problems.

A key issue is Israel’s bombing of the main escape route for refugees – the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.

On Sunday, the family tried to cross the border, but were returned to Gaza and told not to attempt the crossing again.

DFAT confirmed it is working to help an Australian family get out of the war zone.

Gaza’s health ministry says 1,100 people have been killed and another 5,339 injured.

The situation is expected to worsen as Israel controls electricity, water, fuel and part of the city’s food supply.

Palestinian authorities warned that Gaza’s only power plant, which supplies electricity to some 2.3 million people, has run out of fuel.

The stock of fuel for hospital generators will run out by Thursday, local time.

The Australian government has organized three evacuation flights for 10,000 Australians stranded in Israel. The first one will leave on Friday.

However, DFAT was unable to arrange assistance for the Gaza family – who are the only Australians inside the city to contact the government for help.

So far, the family claim the only advice they received was to carry out their risk assessment on Tuesday and consider fleeing to Egypt – despite the crossing being bombed.

In a desperate letter to the federal government, the father pleaded with Australia to try to arrange safe passage for his family with the help of Israel and Egypt.

“Our dear children are living in a constant state of fear, with each day the availability of food and clean water diminishes further,” he said. 7 News reports.

“On Monday, we survived death by a miracle. We evacuated the house where we were staying, just a few minutes before the adjacent building was bombed.

“Today, the power plant was shut down due to a critical lack of fuel and internet access is no longer available.

“This could be my last message to anyone.

“Please, can the government negotiate an exit strategy through Egypt?”

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said earlier that “the Australian Government is evaluating all options for Australians who want to leave”.

“We understand the difficulties with limited trading options. If you want to leave and have a viable opportunity, we encourage you to pursue it.’ she posted on Twitter.