My name is Mars and I am an American doing my best to support Palestinian families in Gaza. I met Mohammed through a mutual friend and organizer here in California. I will be transferring funds via PayPal.

Read below for his story:

My name is Mohammed, and I live in Gaza with my family of nine members. For one year and seven months, my father has been a prisoner, taken by the occupation.

Since the day he was arrested, we haven’t heard a single word from him — no message, no update, nothing to ease our worries.

Since then, I have become the one responsible for my family — providing for them, taking care of their needs, and trying to keep hope alive despite everything we face here.

Life in Gaza is incredibly hard: electricity cuts, lack of clean water, high prices, and destruction all around us.

But what hurts the most is seeing my mother’s eyes every morning, waiting for news about my father… and hearing my younger brothers ask me:

“When will Dad come back?”

I have no answer, but I always tell them that we will stay strong until he returns.

Gaza is not only about war — it’s about patience, love, and the will to survive. Despite all the pain, we still believe that freedom is near, and our voices will be heard.