Emilee Rauschenberger, her five kids and husband escape Gaza warzone into Egypt

Emilee Rauschenberger, her five kids and her husband have left Gaza and crossed the border into Egypt after being stuck in the warzone for weeks.

Rauschenberger and her children are Americans and WINK News was the first to bring you the story of their attempts to get out of Gaza when the war began.

The family is either on a bus to Cairo or just arrived at the hotel in Cairo. This after a long, desperate wait to get out of Gaza.

WINK News first told you about Rauchenberger, her husband and their five kids when Emilee’s dad reached out to WINK News Reporter Claire Galt for help. And John called Claire moments after he heard his family was finally safe.

“I got another short snippet phone call from my daughter,” said John.

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It was only 45 seconds, but it was the best 45 seconds of John’s life.

“Dads are not supposed to cry. But my voice cracked a couple of times,” said John.

His daughter Emille called with happy news this time. She, her husband and their five kids are out of Gaza.

“I didn’t get the details how they pulled it off or what they did. But they’re out there safe,” said John.

And almost immediately, the family of seven hopped on a bus.

“The kids can lay down in the seats and sleep. They’re on a bus to Cairo, and then they’re on a British bus, believe it or not, and the British UK is setting putting them up at the Marriott Hotel in Cairo tonight,” said John.

Finally getting a safe night’s sleep after 26 days and 26 nights of anguish and despondency.

“We’re just ecstatic and, again, can’t thank you, Claire, for all the help you’ve done to put this out. You were the epicenter of it all. You helped us get the first story out and draw attention,” said John.

John, who lives in Bonita Springs, reached out to WINK News Reporter Claire Galt a couple of days after Hamas attacked Israel hoping media attention might help his family. He tried the Biden Administration and our congressman and told Claire he got nowhere.

The results were practically instantaneous. Suddenly, the world knew about the American woman and her five children and how they got trapped in Gaza while visiting her husband’s family’s olive tree farm.

For almost four weeks, they bounced from shelter to shelter, dodging bombs, stood in bread lines for hours and prayed the mule pulling the water jug came that day.

“Just goes to show you the power of prayer and the power of persuasion,” said John.

They kept John, WINK News Reporter Claire Galt and the world informed thanks to spotty Facetime calls and text messages. Wednesday, an international news crew even shot a video of them waiting in line at the border. But that’s in the past because now they’ve crossed into Egypt.

“They’ll be going back to their home in London. I mean, in Manchester, probably flying into Heathrow, I hope to show up with their early Christmas presents and my three suitcases,” said John. “And then we’ll work on their plans of immigrating to the US by this next spring.”

As for John, he’s up to simpler activities.

“I’m going to have a Scotch on the rocks tonight here in Florida,” said John.