Palestinians in New Jersey worry about friends and family trapped in Gaza
PATERSON, N.J. -- Paterson is home to many Palestinian-Americans.
Many told CBS New York on Thursday they're worried about their families in Gaza.
Community members said at least three New Jerseyans are trapped in Gaza.
"Gaza Strip is now under violent attack by the Israeli army," Najwa Alsadi read. It was a message from her niece and sister, who she said escaped their home on the water in Gaza as Israeli missiles came down.
"They basically are terrified. They are moving from area to area," Alsadi said.
She said she hasn't heard from her sister, Somer, who is paralyzed, in days.
"A lot of anxieties. I cannot sleep. I cannot eat, think. I am just waiting for that phone call that my family's been wiped out," Alsadi said.
"Things are really, really, bad over here," Fares Abufares said in a voicemail message to his family.
Abufares, an American citizen and Paterson resident, is also trapped in Gaza after going to visit family.
"This may be the last time I am talking to you," he said in the message. "They bombed the mosque near my house. I saw things I never going to get out of my mind."
"He's stuck there. All the exits are blocked," Duaa Abufares said. "I am scared. Like, really I am scared. My mind is that I don't want anything to happen to my father."
"We don't support Hamas. We just want basic human rights," Fawzia Saker said.
Saker said her family's home was hit in Gaza, but she spoke with CBS New York to highlight the plight of Americans, including three New Jerseyans trapped in Gaza. Two of them are a couple from Newark whose names she's withholding. They are best friends.
"They just wanted to go and visit their family and spend a month there and they are stuck," Saker said.
"Anything that happens that harms human life, whether it's Palestinian or Jewish, it angers me," Alsadi said.
Alsadi and others condemn Hamas, and are asking the world to help Gaza's people and find a solution for peace.
"I think if there is peace, Hamas would not have the power it has today," Alsadi said. "They are going to run out of food and water, medication. They even ran out of body bags for the dead because they ran out of them, and that's a health issue."
The Palestinian community in Paterson is working with connections abroad. They said there are about 360 American citizens in Gaza and believe that number could go up.
