American soldier's mother and uncle are smuggled out of Gaza in secret military ... trends now
An American soldier's mother and uncle were smuggled out of Gaza in a secret military operation after they were left hiding in a building with no food and drinking sewer water to survive.
Zahra Sckak, 44, and her brother-in-law, Farid Sukaik, both American citizens were safely rescued from Gaza Sunday night, a U.S. official confirmed to the Associated Press under the condition of anonymity.
The covert operation was coordinated by the United States, Israel, Egypt, the U.S. official said on Wednedsay.
The secret military operation that involved the U.S. citizen and her family member from Gaza is the only known operation of its kind since the Israel-Hamas war began, the U.S. official added.
'The United States played solely a liaison and coordinating role between the Sckak family and the governments of Israel and Egypt,' the official said.
Sckak's husband, Abedalla Sckak, was unable to be saved when the building they were fleeing from was hit by an airstrike last month, killing him.
One of the couple's three sons, 24-year-old Spec. Ragi A. Sckak, serves as an infantryman in the U.S. military.
Zahra Sckak, 44, and her brother-in-law, Farid Sukaik, an American citizen were rescued from Gaza Sunday night during a covert military operation, a U.S. official confirmed, who spoke on anonymity, the Associated Press and military.com reported
The Sckak family of father Abedalla (far left) with his wife Zahra (far right) and their three young sons who are all American citizens. Abedalla was killed last month trying to flee a building he was hiding in with his wife who miraculously survived and was rescued on Sunday
A building destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the city of Rafah on Wednesday in the Gaza
It remains unclear the condition of Sckack and Sukaik's health at this time.
There were few immediate details of the on-the-ground operation.
The official said the extraction involved the Israeli military and local Israeli officials who oversee Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and there was no sign American officials were on the
