Two southern California residents escape war zone in Gaza

Two southern California residents are now safe after escaping the war zone overseas in Gaza.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was able to help one resident, who is a Los Angeles City employee, by working with the state department and the White House.

The employee was visiting his elderly mother in northern Gaza when the war and violence started. He was ordered to evacuate and went south to Rafah where he got stuck at the border.

Mayor Bass said her office was in regular contact with his son to get updates on his status. 

"It has been a source of tremendous turmoil and pain speaking with his son," said Mayor Bass. "I am relieved to announce today (Thursday) that the employee is now safe in a neighboring country (Egypt) and out of the war zone and we look forward to welcoming our colleague home."

Mayor Bass continued to say that she wanted to personally thank Senior Advisor to the President, Tom Perez, along with the Biden administration, Sen. Alex Padilla, and Rep. Julia Brownley for working with them. 

The second resident who recently escaped the war is a mother from Camarillo. She was visiting family in Gaza when the attacks began.

Her son, Nabil Alshurafa, said she tried to cross the border into Egypt five different times since the war started. Alshurafa said he was extremely happy when he finally got the phone call that she escaped.

"She was crying when I spoke to her and there was a sense of relief knowing she was able to escape, but at the same time the excitement slowly went away when we started realizing that we still have a lot of family still in Gaza," said Nabil Alshurafa. 

Although both residents are safe and out of Gaza, the travel plans to get them back home to California are unknown.