NYE ESCAPE

Secret Operation Rescues Family of U.S. Infantryman in Gaza

The American, Israeli and Egyptian operation is the only known operation to help extract American citizens and their families from the warzone.

An American, Israeli, and Egyptian operation secretly rescued the mother and uncle of a U.S. military infantryman from Gaza in the only known operation to assist American citizens and their families escape from the region. 44-year-old Zahra Sckak, the mother of the infantryman, and her brother-in-law Farid Sukaik, who is an American citizen, fled Gaza on New Year’s Eve and successfully made it out, a U.S. official said Wednesday. Though the escape involved the Israeli military, “the United States played solely a liaison and coordinating role between the Sckak family and the governments of Israel and Egypt,” the official told the Associated Press. Sckak’s husband was killed earlier in the war. She reportedly has three American sons, including Spec. Ragi A. Sckak, who currently serves in the U.S. military.