Medway family grateful to be home after weeks trapped in Gaza

Now home in Massachusetts after a harrowing 27 days trapped in the Gaza Strip, Abood Okal and Wafaa Abuzayda say they have renewed appreciation for things they used to take for granted.

For weeks the couple's sleep — and the sleep of their 1-year-old son Yousef — was interrupted by the war between Israel and Hamas and their days were spent searching for food and clean water in Gaza. Conditions in the enclave deteriorated quickly once the war began, and the United Nations now describes the situation as a humanitarian crisis.

"I'm thankful for everything I have in my life, like a bed and sleeping, water, food, good friends," Abuzayda said in an interview with WBUR Wednesday. "These small things make a difference. Trust me."

The family got home to Medway Monday night, just days after making it out of Gaza and through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt. Out of habits born of fear, they still find themselves trying to conserve water or power as they did when they were in Gaza.

"I caught myself going to the bathroom and using the flashlight on my phone, forgetting that we could turn on normal light," Okal said.

Their relief is tempered by worry about the family members still in Gaza. Both Okal's and Abuzayda's parents are there, as are some siblings and other family members. They sheltered with many of them in a house in southern Gaza while they were waiting to cross the border. They are in touch with family several times a day and hoping that they will soon get permission to leave. They plan to continue to work to help those trapped by the war.

"It's hard for us to get back so quickly to our normal life," Okal said. "I think one thing that would really help us with that is seeing the war come to a stop and at that point, I think one could start healing as it's really an ongoing trauma. I think our minds are still with our family in Gaza, along with the rest of like the 2 million people."

The family had gone to visit relatives in Gaza in September and was unable to leave after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. They tried to cross the border into Egypt several times but were turned away until last week.

During their time in Gaza, Okal regularly sent audio messages to WBUR describing desperate searches for food, clean water and medicine when their son Yousef developed an ear infection. The sound of air strikes could often be heard in the background during those calls.

Okal said he was grateful to send the messages, not knowing if it would be the last time he would ever speak and hoping to get the message out that people in Gaza were suffering.

"At some point when we talked or when we texted during those days while we were there, everyone we connected with, it felt like potentially could be the last person we connected with," Okal said.

Yousef still wakes up with nightmares, Okal said, and they reassure him that he is now home and safe. Okal said he hopes to return to his job soon at Bristol Myers Squibb. The family said it will take time to settle in to life back in Massachusetts.

"Every day we're talking about how we're really thankful because we feel like now we have a big family here," Abuzayda said. "Everybody was so supportive and so many people used to check on us, like, every day."