A retired University of Washington instructor is stuck in Gaza and her family is urging the United Nations to help her evacuate.
Ramona Okumura taught prosthetics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She's been going on missions to Gaza to help fit child amputees with prosthetic limbs.
She has served as the prosthetics consultant with the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. The PCRF describes itself as "a non-political, nonprofit organization dedicated to healing the wounds of war."
Her family says she's staying in a hotel known for housing medical workers.
"But I'm just worried about mistakes, you know, errors that happen in war, such a volume of artillery shells and missiles," said Ramona's brother, Miles. "I just caution her and hope and wish for the best. And that's what that's all we can do now. And this is like, as bad as it could be, except so far she hasn't been injured. So I'm grateful."
She is currently waiting for a visa from the Egyptian government to get out of Gaza.
Some of Ramona’s family members traveled to Washington D.C. Tuesday knocking on senators and State Department officials' doors calling for a ceasefire or to open a humanitarian corridor. Her family telling those who may want to help to do the same and call lawmakers, the UN, and the State Department.
The war, which has already claimed at least 2,200 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate — and compound the misery of people living in Gaza.