A Palestinian American from Staten Island has finally been reunited with her children who were stuck in Gaza.

What You Need To Know

  • Dina Massoud, who lives on Staten Island, has three children under 16 years old who were trapped in Gaza

  • Her story spurred action from state and federal lawmakers

  • She has reunited with her kids in Egypt while they await next steps to potentially bring them to the United States

Dina Massoud wiped away tears in front of NY1 cameras, sharing her children’s stories six weeks ago.

In the past week, a video shows her crying tears of joy as she hugged her children for the first time in a long time, when they were reunited in Egypt.

“I have seen her cry in desperation for her kids. And it’s beautiful to see them reconnected,” said Rania Mustafa, who runs the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton, New Jersey.  

Massoud has a 12-year-old daughter, a 15-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son. They are not U.S. citizens, while she is.

Mustafa said stories like NY1's got the attention of state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, who represents parts of Staten Island where Massoud lives.

“As a mom, I can’t imagine the agony of having your children separated from you and in the middle of a war-zone,” she wrote in a statement to NY1. “I connected with Dina through her translator to assist in working with Senator Schumer to make sure her kids were safe. We thank the Senator and his team for swift action in making sure this Staten Island family could be reunited.”

It was about a week from the time the effort was coordinated between the U.S. and Egypt, according to her lawyer Vivian Khalaf.

“Many people have been waiting since before Dina, people that I am assisting with who haven’t gotten much traffic yet with this process,” said Khalaf.

Getting them out of Gaza is the first step to coming to the U.S. Khalaf said it looks like Massoud’s children will be fast-tracked to apply for green cards while in Egypt.

A Palestinian American herself, Khalaf said she wanted to do anything to help to reunite this mom with her kids.

“It was purely a humanitarian instinct on my part as a human being and not necessarily as an attorney,” she said in an interview from Chicago, where she is based.

Mustafa said based on what the children have experienced — knowing others of their ages who have died, the struggle to find food and the fact they may never see their Palestinian dad who is still in Gaza ever again — the trauma they’ve endured is real.

“No child should have to go through that,” she said.

But the kids will probably be starting new lives on Staten Island with their mom.