Arkansas man sues US government in effort to save wife, children trapped in Gaza

Arkansas man sues US government in effort to save wife, children trapped in Gaza

An Arkansas man of Palestinian descent is suing the U.S. government in an effort to have his wife and their two young children, both American citizens, evacuated from Gaza amid Israel’s war against Hamas.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of American citizen Ramiz Younis of Little Rock in the Eastern District of Arkansas on Monday says that his wife, Folla Saqer, a U.S. legal resident, their two-year-old son, Zain Ramiz Younis, and their eight-month-old daughter, Zaina Ramiz Younis, attempted to flee Gaza through the Egyptian boarder at the Rafah border crossing as recently as Sunday, "only to be turned away by the Egyptian authorities." 

"In fact, Falla had her passport stamped literally at the border just as the bombing from the Israel Government began," the complaint says. "Because Israel threatened to bomb the area, despite her passport being stamped and being with her children, she was denied exit from Gaza. She abandoned multiple items such as luggage and a baby stroller at the border." 

The lawsuit implores defendants Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to "use all resources at their disposal that are necessary and available, including but not limited to deployment of military ships, vessel and airplanes and/or contracting with private commercial ship liners and airline carriers to evacuate U.S. citizens from Gaza and return them safely to the United States or another nation outside of the warzone in the most expeditious manner available."

As of Thursday, Fox News obtained a list of exactly 400 Americans cleared to leave Gaza "as soon as today." Younis' son and daughter, both U.S. citizens, are on the list, but the status of his wife was not immediately known.