LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Before he headed to class, Khaled Issa showed WHAS11 a photo from his brother's wedding.
"Before the war," he explained, pointing to his younger brothers and father. Nearly all of them are still in his hometown. He thinks about them—and his mother and sister—all the time.
"Every one hour, I check to find any news about my family, my friends, my colleagues," he said.
They live in Rafah, Gaza, a city bordering Egypt. Everyday needs like food and water are difficult to come by. Issa can rarely reach his family since they have to charge batteries with solar panels. Electricity is often out, and so are communications systems.
Although the Israeli military urges Palestinians to flee there for safety, some airstrikes still destroy lives and buildings in the southern region.
"My nephews die in this war," Issa shared; however, he is grateful his wife and daughter could make it to the U.S. before the war started.
Back then, back home, he worked as an engineer at an electric provider "like LG&E." Now, he attends the University of Louisville, seeking a doctorate in mechanical engineering. Since he is in the country on a student visa, he isn't allowed to have a job outside the school—and his stipend can't cover his family's evacuation from Gaza.
So he's turned to GoFundMe, raising $8,000 of his $25,000 goal to keep his brothers, sister, and parents safe.
"We are just not numbers," Issa said. "Everyone has a story and has a life and need to live as a human."
Meanwhile, he hopes for peace so he return home again. When the war is over, he wants to become a professor and help rebuild.
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