Critical Condition After a Beach Bombing: Abdullah Needs You

This fundraiser is for my friend Fatma. Here is her message to you all:

Hello, my name is Dr. Fatma Abed, and I’m an Assistant Professor at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza, Faculty of Education.

I am reaching out today with a heart full of pain and a desperate plea to help save my son Abdullah’s life. I created this GoFundMe through the support of friends, as we have exhausted all we have in Gaza.

Since the war began, my family has been forced to relocate more than five times, after losing our home in Tal El Hawa. We now live in northern Gaza with almost no access to food, water, or basic safety. I live with my husband Shadi Abdelmoneam, our two children Haya and Abdullah, and my elderly father-in-law.

On Monday, July 21, 2025, my 14-year-old son Abdullah went to the beach with a friend, just trying to breathe, to feel normal again under the weight of 20 months of ongoing war. Like any teenager, he needed a moment of peace. He was filming his friend when Israeli bombs suddenly struck them.

If you watch the video, you can hear Abdullah calling for help, his voice cut short as he fell unconscious, watch the video here.

A kind stranger rushed Abdullah to the burned-out Shifa Hospital, then called me to say:

"Your son is here. He is in critical condition."

My heart stopped. I ran to the hospital on foot for two hours, through roads I no longer recognized. Gaza is unrecognizable. Buildings, landmarks, and lives, all destroyed.

At the hospital, doctors told me Abdullah had severe injuries to his chest, lungs, intestines, and back. He underwent two emergency surgeries to stop internal bleeding and remove shrapnel. But they couldn’t touch the shrapnel in his back—no neurosurgeon is available in Gaza.

Abdullah is now unconscious, intubated, and hooked to a ventilator, his life hanging by a thread.

I am urgently trying to arrange a medical evacuation, but I have no financial means left. We’ve lost everything, our home, income, and daily access to food or water. Yet, I never asked for help. I managed to feed my family once a day. But this is different. My son’s life is at stake.

Please, if you are reading this and have the means, we need your help. Your donation will:

I understand that many are going through hardship, but if my pain as a mother touches your heart, please help us by donating or spreading the word.

Fatma Abed