Overview

• Zahra Sckak, 44, and her American brother-in-law, Farid Sukaik, were rescued from Gaza on New Year’s Eve in a secret operation coordinated by the U.S., Israel, Egypt and others.
• The operation is the only known of its kind to extract American citizens and their close family members during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
• Sckak’s husband, Abedalla Sckak, was shot and killed earlier in the war as the family fled from a building hit by an airstrike.
• One of Sckak's three American sons, Spec. Ragi A. Sckak, 24, serves as an infantryman in the U.S. military.
• The State Department estimates that about 300 American citizens, legal permanent residents and their immediate family members remain in Gaza, at risk from ground fighting, airstrikes and worsening conditions.