Family drops lawsuit against state department after Daly City grandmother escapes Gaza

DALY CITY, Calif. - The family of a Daly City woman, who had been trapped in Gaza, has dropped their lawsuit against the U.S. State Department following her successful escape.

Her attorney, Ghassan Shamieh, confirmed to KTVU that the 81-year-old grandmother was able to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing into Egypt on Friday.

The news of the woman's escape was first reported by the East Bay Times.

According to Shamieh, the woman will take some time to recover in Cairo before returning home to the Bay Area.

"Very happy she’s able to make it out. We are still working hard to ensure all U.S. citizens in the Gaza Strip are evacuated safely," said Shamieh.

She had been in Gaza to visit her childhood home with her son.

The lawsuit, which has been dropped, alleged that the U.S. State Department and the Department of Defense were violating the woman's constitutional rights.

"Palestinian Americans remain stranded in Gaza with little to no help from the State Department; while Israeli Americans have been evacuated using a royal Caribbean cruise ship," Shamieh previously said. "This lawsuit is to assure that all Americans, especially those caught in Gaza are treated with care and safely evacuated out of the war zone. Just as many Israeli Americans have been evacuated."