A 12-year-old Australian boy stuck in the Gaza Strip has made a desperate appeal to the Australian government to help his family return home.
Yazan Hellis, from Melbourne, is currently stuck with his mother and sister as Israel continues to bomb Gaza.
The offensive comes after Israel was ambushed by Hamas on October 7, with the terror group firing thousands of missiles and killing more than 1,200 residents.
Yazan said he did not know how he, his mother and his seven-year-old sister would be able to get out of Gaza after the blockade imposed on the region.
Only a limited number of truckloads of aid have been delivered to Gaza – about 4% of what usually arrives in the territory daily – raising fears of a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Yazan Hellis (pictured), 12, was one of 51 Australians stuck in Gaza when the Gaza Strip was besieged by Israel following the deadly Hamas terrorist attack on October 7.
Israeli planes struck Gaza on Saturday evening, and additional attacks hit two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank on Sunday (photo: Rapha in the southern Gaza Strip)
“It’s really stressful…like we’ve never been at war before, so I’m really scared,” Yazan said. 7 News.
“I saw dead people on the ground, legs everywhere, arms everywhere… I want to go home to Australia but the borders are closed and there are bombings everywhere.”
According to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, some 51 Australians are stranded in Gaza.
Yazan said his mother was “really, really stressed and scared.”
She pleaded with the Australian government to intervene and help the family return home.
It is understood that the family arrived in Gaza to visit him about two weeks ago.
A second convoy of 17 aid trucks entered Gaza from Egypt on Sunday following a first delivery of 20 trucks on Saturday following intense negotiations.
The trucks are the first convoy of humanitarian supplies since Israel began its siege 12 days ago and after renewed intense Israeli bombardment that killed dozens of Palestinians.
According to the UN, the enclave needs 100 trucks per day to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.
It appears no fuel deliveries have taken place, with the head of the UN relief and workers agency, Philippe Lazzarini, warning on Sunday that stocks would run out “in three days”.
“Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and… aid will not reach many civilians who desperately need it,” he said.
Yazan (next to his sister) made a desperate appeal to the Australian government to help his family return home.
One of several trucks carrying aid to residents of the war-torn Gaza Strip
No one has been allowed to leave Gaza, as Israel puts pressure on the enclave’s 2.3 million residents ahead of a planned invasion in the north of the region.
The Australian government currently cannot access Gaza, but has said anyone who manages to cross the Egyptian border will receive assistance.
On Sunday (Iranian time), Iran issued a chilling warning to the United States that the war between Israel and Hamas could “spin out of control” if it does not “immediately” stop strikes on Gaza.
“I warn the United States and its proxy (Israel) that if they do not immediately put an end to the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any time and the region will spiral out of control,” he said. the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Israeli government also warned that it would target Tehran if Lebanese Hezbollah escalated the conflict.
Israeli planes struck Gaza on Saturday evening, and additional attacks on Sunday hit two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank frequented by militants.
Hamas militants stormed the Israeli border on October 7, launching a deadly attack that killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.
They also captured more than 200 hostages in what has been described as the worst attack in Israel’s history.
