Ventura County residents trapped in Gaza cross border into safety

Two Ventura County residents trapped for weeks in the war-torn Gaza Strip safely crossed the border into safety, Los Angeles city officials and a family member confirmed late Thursday.

Naela Elshorafa, 66, of Camarillo, is now out of danger and staying with family in Cairo, Egypt. She could be back in Ventura County in three or four days, her son Nabil Alshurafa said. She had gone to Gaza weeks earlier to visit her sick mother. When Israel declared war in retaliation for Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 people, Elshorafa and hundreds of other U.S. citizens were trapped in a warzone with little food, no electricity and bombing that has left thousands dead.

“I’m elated. I’m relieved,” Alshurafa said of his mother’s escape. “There’s a huge mountain lifted off my shoulders now.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Thursday that a city employee who had gone to Gaza to visit family was also safely out of the region. Bass’ office confirmed the employee is Sohail Biary, 53, of Simi Valley. He is a U.S. citizen and a district supervisor for the city’s general services department.

Trapped in Gaza: Family, friends fear for Simi man's safety

“We look forward to welcoming our colleague home,” she said in a written statement.

Biary’s son, Khalid Biary, did not respond to messages Thursday and Friday morning. A week earlier, he told The Star his father had gone to Gaza City in late September to see his mother, diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and his father in his 80s.

As of last week, Biary and his sister were staying near the Rafah border, struggling to find food, charging phones off of car batteries and enduring the bombing. Khalid Biary said he had contacted the state department, city officials and U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village. He said he didn’t know who else to call.

“There is nothing,” he said last week. “We just sit here and wait for the state department’s instructions.”

Zeyad Elalami, Sohail Biary's friend and also a Gaza immigrant, learned of the border-crossing from a reporter Friday morning.

"Thank God," he said. "Hopefully, we can do a cease-fire now."

Bass, in her statement, said her office has been working to get Biary to safety. She also credited President Joe Biden’s administration, White House Intergovernmental Affairs Director Tom Perez, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, and Brownley.

About 400 U.S. citizens have been seeking to leave the Gaza Strip. President Joe Biden announced Thursday more than 70 Americans have been able to leave after intense American diplomacy.

Earlier, he said safe passage has been secured for foreign nationals and wounded Palestinians. Alshurafa said his excitement at the news is clouded by his concerns for the safety of Palestinians in Gaza, including several family members. He said he spoke to his mother Thursday and said she shared the same fears.

“She started crying when she talked about her siblings and her mother,” he said. “She fell into tears.”

Alshurafa said he is working to try to get his grandmother, who needs medication, across the border and out of Gaza.

“The past weeks have been a nightmare,” he said. “Did we really have to go through this?”

USA Today contributed to this report.

Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com or 805-437-0255.

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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Two Ventura County residents evacuated out of war in Gaza