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Father recounts harrowing escape from Gaza
Zakaria Alarayshi and his wife Laila spoke Wednesday about fleeing Gaza after they had traveled to the country to visit their family.
(FOX 2) - In a grainy video posted online, Zakaria Alarayshi spoke from the Gaza Strip.
"Life here is so bad. I can't handle it," he's recorded saying.
Alarayshi had traveled to the region to visit family, along with his wife Laila. Instead, they found themselves in a country torn apart by war as neighbors to the east hunted members of the terrorist organization Hamas.
But citizens have been caught in the crossfire, with more than 10,000 Palestinians being killed, with nearly half being children, the ministry of health reported.
Both Zakaria and Laila have since escaped back to the U.S. As they deal with the trauma of navigating a war zone, they begged citizens stateside to recognize the level of violence and destruction being wrought.
"I hear like bomb next to us," he said. "You know whatever I say, you will not believe how strong - I was crying."
He said the family tried crossing the border six times, but were turned around. "What's going to happen?" he asked. "America, USA, you can not take me out? What's the problem?"
At a press conference Wednesday, Alarayshi spoke from a podium alongside his family and Nabih Ayad, a lawyer and founder of the Arab American Civil Rights League. Ayad said he's told the U.S. Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense to do more.
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Alarayshi's son Yahya was also in attendance.
"I’m glad my parents is back, but like my dad says, there’s a lot of people that need to come out. The situation on TV is not like when you talk to somebody face to face," he said.
Israel's brutal campaign has been ongoing since early October after Hamas kidnapped and murdered more than a hundred citizens. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed.
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Part of America's focus has been on evacuating U.S. citizens caught in the country and bringing them home.
"I want to share my story to know what happen with me. We have lot American over there too," said Alarayshi.
The couple still has family, including seven grandchildren in Gaza.