TAMPA, Fla. — After months of being separated, a mother and her children were reunited and are safe at home in Tampa.
We brought you the plea for help last fall when Tampa Bay area mother Hana Elnagar said the last time she heard from her five kids was on October 10th.
"I don't know nothing about my kids after they bombing the area they supposed to be stay[ing] in," she said during a press conference in October.
Her children range from four to 11 years old. Tampa-based non-profit Project Dynamo said the children were visiting their grandparents in Gaza in October when the Israel-Hamas war broke out.
“If you’re an American kid stuck in a war zone, somebody shows up, somebody should show up, and if they don’t, then Dynamo will," said Bryan Stern, CEO and founder of Project Dynamo.
Project Dynamo stepped in to help. The organization said a family member who legally doesn’t have custody of the children moved them to Egypt.
“When that window opened and the stars kind of aligned, we initiated the operation, and it went flawlessly," said Stern.
The family reunited in Egypt first, and then they all flew back to Tampa together. On Tuesday, the family was greeted with cheers at Tampa International Airport upon arrival.
"It’s hard for me because I can’t believe I wouldn’t see them again," said Elnagar. "It’s hard, but finally I saw my kids.”
