Plymouth family crosses into Egypt after month stuck in Gaza amid deadly conflict

A Massachusetts family that spent nearly a month trapped in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict crossed the Egyptian border late Monday and will soon return to their home in Plymouth.

Hazem Shafai, Sanaa Shafai, and their children, Seera, 13, Yumna, 10, and Jasser, 2, expect to spend a few days at a hotel near the international airport in Cairo in order to get medical treatment before returning to the U.S., according to Hazem Shafai's brother, Hani Shafai.

The family of five had been visiting with relatives in northern Gaza when Hamas militants attacked Israelis on Oct. 7, killing roughly 1,400 people. Over the past month, Israeli airstrikes and other military responses to Hamas' attack have killed more than 10,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

The father's brother said one of children has "been in pain for a while," and will try to see an orthodontist in Egypt to fix a broken wire in her braces before the family returns home.

Hani Shafai told WBUR he and the family are grateful for the outpouring of support from neighbors and politicians calling for the family's safe return to America.

"Too many people — the neighbors that they have, the people of Plymouth — and their support and prayers to the family," he said.

He added members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation also were helpful.

“We welcome the good news that the Shafai family are out of Gaza and will soon be on their way home to the United States after weeks of our entreaties to the Department of State, and Israeli and Egyptian officials," Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said in a statement Tuesday morning. "Hazem, Sanaa, Seera, Yumna, and Jasser have been in the thoughts and prayers of everyone in Massachusetts, and we must continue to push for every American citizen to return home safely."

Earlier this week, another Massachusetts family was allowed to cross the Egyptian border after several failed attempts to leave southern Gaza amid the escalating war between Israel and Hamas.

Abood Okal, Wafaa Abuzayda and their 1-year-old son, Yousef, arrived at Boston's Logan airport Monday. The family is now back at their home in Medway.

The Rafah border — the sole way out of Gaza — has been largely sealed. On Nov. 2, Egypt began to allow some foreign nationals trapped in Gaza to cross.