Some of the 20 American medical workers evacuated from Gaza by the State Department returned to the United States on Saturday.
But one Bay Area doctor is still trapped there amid escalating fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces.
Dr. Haleh Sheikholeslami is a family medicine specialist with Sutter Health in San Carlos. She went to Gaza on a two-week mission to provide medical care to families.
Now, it’s been more than three weeks and Sheikholeslami’s family said they still have no idea when she will return.
“She saw the suffering and wanted to help,” said Ahmad Sheikholeslami, Haleh’s brother.
The latest attack by Israel shut down the Rafah border into Egypt, restricting Haleh's planned travel out of the country and forcing the doctor to relocate to the coast.
While the State Department said it evacuated 20 American health care workers, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) said Haleh and a San Francisco health care worker remain trapped in Gaza.
“Unfortunately, we were very disappointed to learn that Dr. Haleh Sheikholeslami and her Bay Area colleague were not event given the opportunity or option to evacuate. They learned about the evacuation after the fact,” said Zahra Billoo, director of CAIR San Francisco Bay Area.
Now CAIR is working with Haleh’s family, reaching out to the State Department and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo to reunite the doctor with her two daughters and husband in the Bay Area.
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Ahmad talked with his sister Saturday and said that despite the challenges, she remains focused on helping people in Gaza.
“Her main concern continues to be medical supplies are low, being able to provide services is becoming very difficult,” he said.
Ahmad added that he still doesn’t know why his sister is not returning home with the other American doctors.
So far, Haleh’s family said they were given no timeline on when she might return home.
In a statement from Palo Alto Medical Foundation group, where Haleh works in San Carlos, her colleagues said they are also working with the White House and the State Department to bring her home.
