COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Israel-Hamas war might seem like a world away. But for people in central Ohio with family and friends stuck in the crossfire, it feels very close.
Back in June, 10TV introduced you to 16-year-old Abdullah Mukhaimer. He was brought to Columbus by the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) for a prosthetic leg after losing his leg to cancer.
The PCRF is an organization focused on providing free medical care to sick and injured children in the Gaza Strip and other regions. Doctors and nurses from around the world are brought in to help treat children or train local medical staff.
"We have two doctors, two medical professionals in Gaza who've been stuck since Oct. 7, trying to get out. They're at the border with a bunch of other internationals at a UN compound,” said Steve Sosebee, PCRF President.
Mukhaimer is back in Gaza with his family. For the people with the PCRF who helped him in Columbus, it’s like having a family member there.
“I feel like he’s my fifth child, so It's like a piece of me is in Gaza,” said Nadia Rasul, President of the Columbus Chapter of the PCRF. “Every morning when I try to text him, I'm hesitant because I don't know he's going to respond, if he's alive or if any of his family members are still alive.”
As of Thursday, he was still alive. He answered a phone call during a 10TV interview with Rasul on Monday. He told her he and his family are alive, but depressed, exhausted and need help.
“Please continuously, please think of us always and please make prayers for us and help us with whatever you can,” translated Rasul.
She tries to check in on him daily. With phone service becoming increasingly spotty, those calls or text messages are never certain.
PCRF volunteers want to help. With borders closed, that help is difficult. Medical supplies can’t make it in and fuel is needed at hospitals. Sosebee said having to sit on the sidelines and watch helplessly is the hardest part for them.
"What's missing is hope. Right now, nobody feels any hope that this issue is going to be resolved in any kind of manner where there won't be any more needless suffering, particularly of children in the Gaza strip,” said Sosebee.