From Dr. Said AbuBakr: “On the 18th of October, my friend, Dr. Abedal Azeez AbuShaban, PhD, and his family’s home was struck by IDF shelling in Gaza City.
They heeded the warnings of the IDF and tried to flee their home, but when they got to various shelters, they were over capacity, putting them in the street. They made the decision to return and seek shelter in their home.
The shelling left Abedal Azeez (who is blind – and in no way a threat to the IDF) with a severely mangled arm (pictured); his 8 year old daughter, Jihan, with severe bone and skin damage – to the leg and arm – to the point where she will need grafts. His 18 year old son, Yousof has a significant amount of shrapnel embedded in his body, skull and jaw that needs to be surgically removed, his hand and wrist bones have been pulverized and need to be reconstructed. I asked him how badly his wife, Umm Yousof/Jamila, was injured and he broke down in tears saying that she has injures, but there were not as severe because his 14 year old daughter, Joud, was hugging her at the time and took the brunt of the force from the shelling – the shrapnel tearing into her body which such force that the last embrace she felt from her daughter is what has allowed her to take care of her family now.
They waited more than two hours for the ambulance to come, trying to save Joud and with Jihan screaming from the agonizing pain, asking her father to make it stop. His neighbor, who is a physician, frantically trying to help them but unsuccessful in the darkness of a military blackout.
When the ambulance finally arrived, they asked to first treat Joud, and after a quick evaluation, they broke the news that she is now shaheed. They asked why it took so long to come, and paramedics replied that Israel had been actively targeting ambulances that night, and they had to wait for a lull in the bombing.
AbedalAzeez and the surviving family finally got stabilizing care and were able to make it to Egypt this week. The surgeons have evaluated Jihan and determined that she needs specialized care in the U.S. Alhamdulillah since Yousof is an American citizen (born in Kalamazoo, MI) and AbedalAzeez having lived in the U.S. and earned his doctorate here, they were able to get Visas to come to the U.S. for medical care.
PCRF will be sponsoring the care and travel for Jihan, and Umm Yousof, but not for AbedalAzeez and Yousof.
This is where you come in – we need your help to raise the money and volunteer to get them stateside, provide accommodations, and coordinate care for them. Many people have been asking how to help the situation in Gaza – here it is at your virtual doorstep.
I am still waiting for information from PCRF to understand if they are flying commercial or chartered and what type of costs we are looking at, what city they will receive care in, etc. It is my hope that we can get the donations to a specific fund at PCRF; if not, I will create a LaunchGood for the family.
My rough estimate is that we would need $5,000 for flights and hotels for a week or so until we can get them situated. Once situated, they will need a small car to get to and from appointments; then there are living expenses and medical costs for AbedalAzeez.”