As violence rages on and the death toll rises in the Middle East, some faith leaders in the DFW metroplex are urging people to remember their humanity and the innocent people being killed every day in both Israel and Palestine.
Miada Khalaf's dad is a father, a grandfather, and a physician.
"[A] humanitarian, empathetic doctor, family-oriented... and most important, my hero!" Khalaf said.
The family left Gaza nearly a decade ago.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
“Due to the unsafe environment in not having the basic means of life, he decided to emigrate to the United States," she said.
She said about two months ago, he went back to Gaza to sell his property there. Now, the 72-year-old can't get out.
"He lives off his… medications and if there are no basic means of life, like water, or electricity, or internet or anything that he can get in touch with the outside world... We felt like we lost him," Khalaf said.
She said her father had to flee northern Gaza and is staying with her aunt, who has opened her doors to about 30 people.
"Gaza is basically like a concentration camp," Khalaf said. "It is very scary over there, it is devastating. No words can describe the amount of ugliness that you could see and witness in those circumstances."
DFW man stuck in Gaza
Khalaf said her family has tried to contact the American embassy in Jerusalem and Egypt.
"Nobody was responding. Nobody could help and assist with anything," she said.
Her family is pleading for help.
“Palestinian lives matter," she said.
That's the message many DFW faith leaders are echoing.
“It says something about your understanding of who you are as a human being if you don’t give a damn about that, if you don’t give a damn about children being bombed, no matter whether they’re Jewish, Muslim, Christian, that should not matter at all," said Reverend Bazio Peter Jerome Johnson with the Institute for Nonviolence.
The Jewish Voice for Peace’s rabbinical council addressed both Jewish and Palestinian communities “who are heartbroken, grieving and fearful,” saying, “we grieve whole-heartedly, broken-heartedly…” with all lives lost.
“I’ve been in prayer over this, praying that Allah will put a ceasefire. That’s what we’re calling for, a cease-fire on all sides to stop this massacre," said Mustafaa Carroll of the Council on American Islamic Relations DFW chapter.
“Where there is the deepest suffering, people of faith should be called," said Rev. T.J. Fitzgerald, minister of community care and engagement at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas.
He and other ministers of the church posted a message to Facebook calling on constituents to hang on to their humanity as they process the violence:
"We stand with Palestinian families and Israeli families as their lands are wrecked with violence and intractable conflict.
We condemn violence by groups or governments that create terror in the lives of ordinary citizens.
"We are horrified by the willful actions of people who feel they can kill or destroy people in their homes and this includes Hamas and the military of Israel.
We believe that extremism leads to violence and while people have the right to protect themselves, aggressive responses only lead to more violence.
We hold our members who have families in the region of Palestine, Israel, Lebanon and Syria and pray for their safety.
And we hold our Jewish and Palestinian friends in Dallas in an embrace of love and in hope that vengeance and hatred is not their response to this moment." -Revs. Daniel, Beth, and T. J., First Unitarian Church of Dallas
United in prayers for peace, and for innocent lives caught in the crossfire.
"I just want to wake up and find Palestine free one day," Khalaf said. "When the war is over and the countries would have signed treaties, the politics would have been debated. And the innocent dead, would still be dead," said Khalaf.
Is the U.S. trying to get citizens out of Gaza?
NBC 5's Tahera Rahman reached out to the U.S. State Department.
"The armed conflict between Israel and Hamas is ongoing, making identifying departure options for U.S. citizens complex," a spokesperson wrote via email, adding that the government "is making every effort to persuade responsible parties to open the Rafah crossing."
The spokesperson said they are providing information to allow citizens to make their own security and safety decisions.
"We have made approximately 2,000 phone calls and sent thousands of emails to U.S. citizens in Gaza, their immediate family members, and their loved ones who are inquiring with us on their behalf," the spokesperson wrote.
They said the U.S. Embassy in Cairo currently has a team close to the border.
"We have informed U.S. citizens in Gaza with whom we are in contact that if they assess it to be safe, they may wish to move closer to the Rafah border crossing - there may be very little notice if the crossing opens, and it may only open for a limited time," they wrote.
The spokesperson said their "highest priority" is supporting U.S. citizens.
"We are working around the clock on transportation and contingencies for U.S. citizens and those at immediate risk that may be able to cross via Rafah," they said.
The spokesperson did not answer whether the U.S. is keeping track of its citizens in Gaza and the West Bank, and how many are estimated to be stuck there.
A spokesperson for the State Department said U.S. citizens should complete the crisis intake form with contact information so they can reach out on short notice.
