Inside the daring plot to rescue an American soldier’s mother in Gaza
night was the same. From his home in California, Fadi Sckak would dial his mother, Zahra, who was sheltered with her brother-in-law amid the rubble and tank fire in Gaza City’s besieged Sabra neighborhood. Often, he would have to call more than 60 times before a connection was made and she was able to assure her son that, yes, she was still alive.
Fadi’s father, Abedella, had died on Nov. 26. Eight days earlier, the 56-yearold had been struck in the calf by what the family believes was a stray Israeli bullet as the couple fled what remained of their home for the past 15 years. Without medical care, Abedella’s condition steadily deteriorated. First his legs went numb. He stopped talking. And then, he was gone.
Late last month, in an act of desperation, Fadi Sckak, 25, contacted the news media to make a public plea for help. Aided by the Arab American Civil Rights League, Sckak, a business student at San José State University, was then connected with a group of American military veterans who specialize in coordinating humanitarian evacuations from war zones. They were moved by the story, particularly because one of his two brothers, Ragi, is an infantry soldier in the U.S. Army who was deployed in South Korea as their parents’ crisis unfolded.
What ensued was an extraordinary rescue operation, executed deep within the bombed-out PalEach estinian enclave after several days of intensive negotiations between the
U.S. and Israeli governments. At the urging of White House officials and other key figures in Washington, senior Israeli officials approved Zahra Sckak’s extraction along with her brother-in-law Farid, a U.S. citizen, and supported their unimpeded passage to the border with Egypt, where they crossed to safety on Dec. 31.
The daring daytime mission was performed by a small team of volunteers who shuttled them south through the Gaza hellscape. It was conducted without incident, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to elaborate, citing concerns for the safety of those involved. No shots were fired.
In an interview, Zahra Sckak, 44, called the journey “terrifying.” She declined to identify her location, fearful that doing so would put her life in jeopardy once more, but said she is receiving medical care and gradually recovering. Sckak expressed gratitude to her son Fadi, who “told me not to worry,” and acknowledged that it has been difficult to reconcile all that had to transpire for her to leave Gaza.
“It’s like, something big happened,” she said, “but I didn’t know anything about it. It’s unbelievable.”
This account is based on interviews with 11 people familiar with the Sckak family’s ordeal, and efforts by the United States and Israel to facilitate last month’s secretive operation. Some spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the still-sensitive details about how the two governments, motivated by the plight of a deployed American soldier, intervened to save his loved ones.
The Associated Press previously reported that Zahra Sckak and her