For local Palestinians, trauma remains as war in Gaza continues
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The last year has been painful for Raghda Skeik.
One year ago this week, Hamas attacked Israel, an act that led the Israeli military to launch deadly strikes in Gaza.
At the start of the war, her parents and all her siblings were in Gaza. Skeik says they are all still alive, miraculously.
But for her and her family in Minnesota, there is constant trauma as they monitor every bit of news coming out of the Middle East.
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“It’s been the toughest days and months ever on me, my family and even my family abroad,” she said recently. A year ago, Skeik said, “we were having the happy life. Everything was fine.”
Skeik, 42, is an artist who lives in Minnetonka. She was born in Gaza and raised in Al-Rimal, a neighborhood in Gaza hit hard by the Israeli military last October.
“All of a sudden, almost everything is gone. And we started losing people one by one, and now it’s counting like more than 150 people from extended families — my family, my husband’s family — where we’re lost,” she said.
“It’s been and still is a difficult, difficult time on all of us.”
On Oct. 7, Hamas fighters killed nearly 1,200 people inside Israel and kidnapped 250 people. About 100 hostages are still being held. The attacks started a war that has since claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people in Gaza. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, nearly 17,000 children in Gaza have been killed and more than 97,000 people have been wounded.
Family scattered by military attacks
In the last year, Skeik said she has seen her family disperse throughout Gaza. Family home after family home have been decimated by Israeli strikes, she said.
Skeik said the Israeli Defense Forces detained her 23-year-old nephew, a physician, for three months. Skeik said he was tortured and has multiple fractures in his face and he lost a finger.
“We could not recognize him in these pictures,” she said, referring to photos taken after his release. “He was this fit, handsome, big guy and he came out just skinny, really depressed. It’s like he’s totally changed.”
She said he’s doing better physically and is talking more about what happened. But he still suffers from the trauma and has nightmares.
As a U.S. citizen, Skeik was able to get her parents out of Gaza and into Egypt in November 2023. But over time, her parents have grown despondent being away from their children, grandchildren and home country.
“Sometimes I blame myself that I disconnected them from the rest of the family,” she said. Her mother told Skeik she’ll be ready when the borders open again. She would go back to her home, even if it’s no longer there.
“‘I would stay in the rubbles just to see my family,’” Skeik quoted her mother. “It is heartbreaking for me … I did this. I’m not sure if it was the right thing or not.”
She called her parents in April for the Eid al-Fitr festival, a celebration of the end of Ramadan. Her father suddenly burst into tears.
“My dad is a tough guy. I’ve never seen him cry before in my life. Never. So hearing him cry over the phone and say, ‘we’re not good. We’re not doing well, we’re here alone, away from my kids. Away from my grandkids. Away from our home. We’ve lost everything,’” she said, breaking into tears.
Skeik said she flew to Egypt to be by their side after the phone call.
Local impact from war is ‘significant’
Skeik is not alone.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota, said he has deep connections with many local Palestinian families.
“One by one, the people that I knew had the same story. ‘I lost this many family members, I lost this many family members, I lost this many family members,’” he said. “This war has taken the lives of many people and hasn’t ended, and I’ve never imagined one day we would be at this position right now.”
Hussein said the local community has seen “significant impact” from the war.
“It’s been a very difficult time for us, our community, since the beginning of this war and now genocide,” he said. “I’ve seen the increase of Islamophobia and antisemitism. We have seen an increase of attacks against our mosques.”
Demonstrations and protests have also continued as people demand an end to the war and call for the release of the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. Hussein also said there are Muslims concerned for their jobs because they have expressed sentiments such as “Free Palestine.”
“We’ve seen students suspended for making similar statements,” he added.
Skeik said two of her children who attend the University of Minnesota say they feel pressured to not speak out about the war.
They would ask, “‘Can I do this or that? Because I’m in fear if I lose my credits or my degree or I would be kicked out?’” she said.
Famine is also reality in Gaza and for Skeik’s family.
Skeik said food is so scarce that one egg costs $6 and vendors are selling onions by the slice.
Her sister in Gaza had to have a frank discussion with her children. She baked them each three pita loaves, Skeik said.
“How hard it is to tell your child — and this is a true story my sister had to manage to tell her kids — ‘if you (eat) them at once, there’s nothing left. You’ll be hungry for the rest of the week,” her sister told them.
“So you get to manage how to consume these three little pita bread(s) for a whole week until, who knows, we’re gonna get something or not.’”
