Around 1,100 people have left the Gaza Strip since the Rafah crossing with Egypt was briefly opened last week. Evacuations were suspended Saturday, but resumed earlier today. Meanwhile, reports emerged Friday that Israel was not allowing citizens of Brazil and Ireland to leave the war-torn enclave as retaliation for their government’s criticism of Israel and calls for a ceasefire.
This is an 11-year-old American Palestinian girl, Farah Salouha, who was forced to leave her father behind in Gaza as she traveled to Egypt with her mother and siblings.
Farah Salouha: “I’m very sad, because I love all of my friends, especially in school, because I was always happy with them. And I miss being happy instead of just worrying about my safety all the time. … The start of the war was very hard, because I was sick, and we had to sleep — I couldn’t sleep in my room. But then they told me to get out of Gaza, and I didn’t want to leave Gaza. But so, I had to go to Rafah and sleep in different places. And we kept on moving and moving, and I didn’t want this. There was no electricity and no internet and no water.”