A 12-year-old Australian boy trapped in the Gaza Strip has made a desperate plea to the Australian government to help his family return home.
Yazan Hellis, from Melbourne, is currently trapped with his mother and sister as Israel continues to bombard Gaza.
The offensive comes after Israel was ambushed by Hamas on October 7 with the terrorist group firing off thousands of missiles and killing more than 1,200 residents.
Yazan said he does not know how he and his mother and seven-year-old sister will get out of Gaza after a blockade was placed on the region.
There has only been a limited amount of trucks of aid delivered to Gaza – reportedly about four per cent of what typically arrives in the territory daily – sparking fears of a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Yazan Hellis (pictured), 12, was one of 51 Australians trapped in Gaza when it was placed under siege by Israel following the deadly terror attack by Hamas on October 7
Israeli planes struck Gaza on Saturday night, with additional attacks on Sunday hitting two airports in Syria and a mosque in occupied West Bank (pictured: Rapha in the Southern Gaza Strip)
‘It’s really stressful … like you’ve never been in a war before, so I’m really scared,’ Yazan told 7 News.
‘I saw people dead on the ground, legs everywhere, arms everywhere … I want to go home back to Australia but the borders are closed and there’s bombing everywhere.’
Some 51 Australians are understood to be stuck in Gaza, according to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs.
Yazan said his mother was ‘really really stressed and scared’.
She has pleaded with the Australian government to step in and help the family get back home.
It is understood the family arrived in Gaza to visit family about two weeks ago.
A second convoy of 17 trucks of aid entered Gaza from Egypt on Sunday following an initial delivery of 20 trucks on Saturday after intense negotiations.
The trucks offer the first convoy of humanitarian supplies since Israel began a siege 12 days ago and after further heavy Israeli bombardment that killed dozens of Palestinians.
According to the UN, the enclave needs 100 trucks per day to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.
It is understood there have been no deliveries of fuel, with the United Nation’s Relief and Worker agency chief Philippe Lazzarini warning on Sunday that supplies would run out ‘in three days’.
‘Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and.. aid will not reach many civilians in desperate need,’ he said.
Yazan (right with his sister) has made a desperate plea to the Australian government to help his family get home
One of a number of trucks carrying aid to the residents of the war-torn Gaza strip
No people have been allowed out of Gaza, with Israel heaping pressure on the enclave’s 2.3 million people ahead of a planned invasion in the north of the region.
The Australian Government cannot currently access Gaza, but has said that anyone who was able to make it across the border to Egypt would receive assistance.
On Sunday (Iran time), Iran issued a chilling warning to the United States that Israel’s war with Hamas could ‘spiral out of control’ if they do not ‘immediately’ cease strikes on Gaza.
‘I warn the US and its proxy (Israel) that if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control,’ Iran’s foreign minister said.
The Israeli government has also warned it would target Tehran if Lebanon’s Hezbollah escalates the conflict.
Israeli planes struck Gaza on Saturday night, with additional attacks on Sunday hitting two airports in Syria and a mosque in occupied West Bank frequented by militants.
Hamas militants stormed the border into Israel on October 7, launching a deadly attack that killed at least 1400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.
They also seized more than 200 hostages in what has been described as the worst-ever attack in Israel’s history.
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