NEWCASTLE woman Rola Almassri has not afforded herself the luxury of worrying where she will house 40 members of her extended Palestinian family.
She's purely occupied with extricating her loved ones from war-torn Gaza and saving their lives.
"We just want them to be safe and not die," Mrs Almassri said. "We're not thinking about ourselves in this situation."
Mrs Almassri and her husband Mohammed grew up in Gaza before settling in Newcastle eight years ago.
The couple live in a four-bedroom home in Fletcher with their three children, Farah, 9, Hamad, 8, and Malak, 5.
Mrs Almassri is seven months pregnant with the couple's fourth child.
Ever since October 7, when Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups invaded southern Israel killing and capturing civilians to spark this latest chapter of bloodshed, the Almassris have feared for their family's safety.
Israel's constant bombardment of Gaza in retaliation has resulted in close to 20,000 Palestinian deaths, of which 70 per cent are women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.
Mrs Almassri said her parents, sister, two brothers and their children were among the 40 members of her extended family who have applied for temporary subclass 600 visas.
The subclass 600 visas are usually used by tourists and prevent holders from working or accessing education and health services. Holders can stay in Australia for up to 12 months and face strict character, security and identity checks.
Mrs Almassri's family is based in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, about 10 kilometres from the Egyptian border.
They're living on the street in tents after their homes was destroyed by an Israeli bomb.
"All their houses have been bombed already and my brother's stores have been bombed too," Mrs Almassri said. "Everything has been bombed."
Mrs Almassri has kept in contact with her family when possible and said the situation is constantly deteriorating.
"It a really hard time," she said. "There's no food, no water, and lots and lots of people."
Last year the Almassris visited Gaza for the first time since settling in Newcastle, giving their Australian-born children the opportunity to meet their extended family.
"They [their children] ask a lot because the news [of the war] is everywhere," she said. "Even if we don't talk about it, they will hear about it.
"Yes, of course they ask about all of their cousins."
Mrs Almassri remains hopeful her family will be chosen to make safe passage from the Gaza border city of Rafah to Egypt and then onto Australia.
However, her optimism is fading as the immigration process has stalled since she applied for the visas last month.
"I'm so confused," she said. "I don't know what I can tell them [my family]. They're just awaiting any good news."
If Mrs Almassri's family are granted entry to Australia, then will come the difficult task of finding accommodation.
Last week the Lass O'Gowrie Hotel hosted a mini music festival, Artists For Ceasefire, which raised $4600 for the Almassri family.
A movie night, also last week at Slingtown in Islington, raised a further $1000.
Mrs Almassri also appealed for help from anyone in the Hunter with available accommodation.
"When we applied for these visas, we were just thinking about their safety," she said.
"After that me and my husband were wondering what should we do? We thought maybe they can live in the living room and do tents in the backyard.
"We don't know what we're going to do, and that's all we have. He told me, 'we will try to look after each other'.
"In our situation with our religion we just say, 'god will help us'. We have positive thinking."
