‏Hello friends, we are Iyad and Areej, coming to you from our tent in the occupied Gaza Strip, along with our three children; Yazan (14), Zain (11), and little Ayod (6). We have already lost so much, and continue to lose as the violence around us rages on. Our minds and bodies are fractured by the constant droning noise, the bombings and the places and people we once knew reduced to dust. Yet when children look up at you with any amount of hope in their eyes, there is no choice but to survive. Still we persist for our family.

 We’ve suffered through famine, death, disease, and many other things since the Israeli military launched its campaign of destruction in October, 2023, one week after I, Iyad, returned to Gaza to be with my mother. Little did I know I would become utterly trapped here. Our children are losing their childhoods, and we are losing our family.

Areej lost a brother in 2025, and another has reached his GoFundMe goals, therefore has the resources to go once the opportunity arises. Our children’s young cousins, my brother’s children, will leave too. Although a great blessing, this is crushing for the children’s hearts and minds. Especially our youngest, Ayod, as he doesn’t understand why he’s losing a beloved friend and playmate; why his cousin gets to leave, and he has to stay and live out this nightmare.

 We can’t do it alone; and bare survival alone cannot sustain the little hope that remains. Soon it will be gone and even the children will know nothing in life but this horror. Our focus is to raise the money needed for all five members of our family to escape Gaza and start anew. All we ask is that you hear our story, and feel moved to share what you can; to help us help our children. We must keep hope alive, escape from this hell and give these children all the education, opportunities, and resources they deserve. As well as show them the joy that life on the other side of darkness can hold. Thank you from the deepest place in our hearts. Your support gives life in the truest sense.