Borak Alagha
WHAT HAPPENED
Borak Alagha, an 18-year-old Chicago-born U.S. citizen whose family is from the suburb of Lombard, Illinois, was detained on February 8, 2024, when Israeli soldiers raided his family's shelter in the al-Muwasi 'safe zone' near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. According to relatives cited by the Associated Press and CNN, troops broke through the door around 5 a.m. as the family slept, tied up and blindfolded women and children, and seized Borak along with his 20-year-old brother Hashem, their Canadian-citizen father, and other male relatives. The brothers, engineering students, were later held in Ashkelon prison in Israel. Israel's Consul General to the Midwest, Yinam Cohen, said they were 'arrested for collaboration with Hamas,' an accusation the family's attorney called baseless. The U.S. State Department repeatedly sought consular access while relatives said Washington had failed them.
TESTIMONY
“We've pleaded with the US government. The administration is fully failing in its duty.” — Yasmeen Elagha, cousin of Borak and Hashem Alagha
SOURCES
DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR
This case is documented, public, and unanswered. Send it to the people who represent you — the record only matters if someone is made to answer for it.