Trapped in Gaza
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 20 November 2023
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
An American family who visited Gaza for a reunion found themselves trapped in the territory for nearly a month as Israeli rockets rained down. How they got out - and the desperate situation for the vast majority of civilians who cannot escape Gaza.
Read more:
In September, a Boston-area couple traveled to Gaza, hoping to introduce their 1-year-old son to his grandparents. War shattered their plans: For almost a month, the family was trapped in Gaza as Israel ratcheted up its air and ground assault. Now back in Massachusetts, Abood Okal shares the story of escaping through Egypt with his wife and child – and his worries about the family they left behind.
Okal’s family is just one of many trying to survive a brutal war. More than 11,000 Palestinians – at least 4,600 of them children – have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Gaza war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Louisa Loveluck, who covers global crises for The Post, reports on rising civilian casualties in Gaza and whether there could be a cease-fire.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, this is Abu Dukal, recording this voice memo from Gaza's trip. |
| 0:08.6 | Today's day 18 of the war and we're still stranded in Gaza, my wife, myself, and our one-year-old son. |
| 0:19.2 | This is Abood Ocal. |
| 0:21.0 | In September, him and his wife Wafa Abuzeida traveled from their home in Boston to the West Bank in Gaza. |
| 0:28.0 | They wanted their family to meet their son, a baby, Youssef. |
| 0:33.3 | Then Israel launched its war in response to a Hamas attack |
| 0:37.0 | on October 7th that left more than 1,200 people dead. |
| 0:41.6 | The family found themselves trapped in Gaza. |
| 0:44.0 | We've been trying to stay strong, but it hasn't been easy. |
| 0:48.0 | Air strikes have intensified the last few days and especially last night. It's become constant all |
| 0:56.6 | night for and most of the day. My son was not able to sleep. We've been trying to soothe him as much as we can and keep him shielded from |
| 1:08.2 | from the wrath of the war. |
| 1:10.6 | Abood and his family heard the bombs dropping as Israel stepped up its military invasion. |
| 1:17.0 | More than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since October 7th, including at least 4,600 children. |
| 1:26.0 | That's according to the Gaza Health Ministry. |
| 1:29.0 | We're trying to stay strong, but we cannot help but feel hopeless and |
| 1:35.0 | abandoned. |
| 1:38.0 | Abood and his family are U.S. citizens |
| 1:40.6 | and eventually after nearly a month they managed to leave Gaza through Egypt. |
| 1:46.1 | They're now back safe in the Boston suburbs. I was able to call them up from home there, |
| 1:51.6 | but most of their family, their parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, are still |
| 1:57.2 | in danger. We know what they're going through. You cannot just move on that's the part that once we left I don't think we can |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Washington Post, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Washington Post and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.