'I feel like second class citizen. Biden should take care of everyone': American stuck in Gaza says

Meanwhile, in Khan Yunis, they not only contend with daily air strikes, but the humanitarian situation is horrendous, Alarayshi said.

"There is no life. I go to the shop; there is nothing to eat," Zakaria Alarayshi, a resident of Michigan, USA, who is currently trapped in Gaza says.

"We eat once every 24 hours. We get cookies. We get a sandwich with a slice of cheese to eat. We used to buy water. Now there is no water, so we have to drink salty [tap] water. I have diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol. I'm in a dreadful state," he lamented to Al Jazeera.

Alarayshi and his wife Laila Alarayshi arrived in Gaza on a short trip to visit family. 

But then an Israeli air raid hit the building next to the house where they were staying.

According to Alarayshi, it was like experiencing death while still alive.

"We were confused and huddled together. It was death, death. You feel like you've died from the impact and the fear. I am a grown man, and I cried from the fear. Imagine what the children are going through. We had no idea what to do," he told Al Jazeera in a phone interview.

Alarayshi and his wife Laila are among hundreds of United States citizens stuck in Gaza amid the fighting between Israel and Hamas, which has already left thousands of people dead and levelled entire neighbourhoods in Palestinian territory.

Last week, the couple filed a lawsuit against the Joe Biden administration to compel the US government to evacuate Americans from Gaza.

The US has already evacuated thousands of citizens out of neighbouring Israel, including those on a cruise ship. But for citizens stuck in Gaza, nothing has been done.

"I worked three jobs. I built a business. I pay taxes. I did everything right to build a better future for myself and my family and live honourably. But now I feel like a second-class citizen. President Biden should take care of everyone," Alarayshi said.

In a conversation with Al Jazeera, Nabih Ayad, a lawyer and founder of the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL), a Michigan-based advocacy group involved in the lawsuit, said, "The fact that you are evacuating US citizens of Israeli descent but not US citizens of Palestinian descent creates a problem."

 The lawsuit accuses the US government of violating constitutional provisions that ensure equality under the law.

"Again, who's doing the bombing? What weapons are they using? It's Israel, our friend, that's going to be doing the bombing, using United States weapons, and they have control of all those borders," he said.

Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who represents a Michigan district, also mentioned the couple's suffering during a briefing with reporters on Monday. 

"I was on the phone with him at 1am making sure that he could get to the Egyptian border. They waited there for six hours, and nothing," Tlaib said.

The US State Department said it "has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas".

The statement issued, however, did not address Al Jazeera's question on whether the US has a plan to get Americans out of Gaza.