Rafah, Gaza – Nineteen-year-old Yousif Abu Shaaban and four immediate family members had been waiting for days for their evacuation from the besieged Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
An American passport holder, Abu Shaaban was told by officials from the United States consulate that he and his family were eligible to leave the strip. The family was staying at a school near the Rafah crossing, seeking a way out of the enclave away from Israel’s relentless bombing campaign that began on October 7.
