Help Our Family of 9 Survive & Escape Gaza

We are a family of nine, torn apart since the beginning of the genocide. First, displacement separated us, and now, with northern Gaza destroyed, our whole building bombed, and rent prices soaring, we live wherever we can afford, not where our family and loved ones are.

We, the daughters, have tried to support our family. We attempted online work, but without stable internet, laptops, or even phones, since ours were bombed, our efforts were futile. In Gaza, professional life is a myth. We spent years struggling to build careers despite the blockade, only to have everything stolen from us by war.

We are asking for your help to support our daily survival and to give us the means to one day leave Gaza when the borders open.

Anas (27 years old): The Family’s Sole Provider, Fighting to Stay Alive

Anas suffered a heart attack in his twenties and had two stents placed and doctors suspected of the covid vaccine as a reason. A year later, he suffered a pain in the kidneys to find out he has developed lupus, which attacks his body unpredictably. The only doctor who monitored his condition, Dr. Hamam Ellouh, was killed in the second month of the war. Since then, he has had no specialist care, no medication adjustments, and no supervision.

His internet and electronics business was destroyed in the bombings. His engagement was broken twice, once due to his illness, and the second time when his fiancée fled Gaza during the war.

Despite his pain, Anas carries the burden of supporting the family, fetching water, collecting wood, and lighting fires. The Al-Nabulsi flour massacre forced our mother to stop him from going. But he has no choice, life in Gaza demands impossible sacrifices.

Our Parents: A Lifetime of Hardship

Dad (73 years old) suffers from peripheral neuropathy due to a spinal cord injury that led to a stroke in 2019. A heart attack followed in 2022. Last month, he underwent pancreas-sparing duodenectomy surgery, as over a year of surviving on canned food had taken a severe toll on his health. The constant movement, instability, and lack of medical care make his condition unbearable.

Mom (62 years old) suffers from chronic illnesses and severe back and eye pain from cooking over open fires. Without a refrigerator, we must buy food daily. She tries to do everything herself to give us time to work and learn, but we cannot leave her to suffer alone.

Rana (32 years old): A Career Stolen by War

Imagine spending five years after graduation desperately trying to find work in an economy that barely exists. You finally land your first job, and before receiving your first paycheck, a genocide begins.

Now, if we start rebuilding again, learning the skills we missed while struggling to survive, how much more of our lives will we need to sacrifice before we can simply work and earn?

Lama (30 years old): A Journey Interrupted

Lama is an English major who worked in translation and teaching. She always loved to travel and once lived in Turkey, working until the war in Gaza in 2021 forced her to return—because, despite her love for travel, she could not bear to be away from her family.

She later worked in marketing in Egypt but returned to Gaza again, just four months before the genocide began. She had savings in the bank to study MBA abroad, but those savings are all gone now, spent on survival in a place where life has become impossibly expensive. Her dreams of studying abroad feel more distant than ever, as every resource is drained just to make it through another day.

Nihal & Amjad: A Family Without a Future

For over a year now, my sister Nihal, her husband Amjad, and their children have been running from one place to another, desperately seeking safety. They never wanted to leave their home in northern Gaza, but when the bombings intensified, they had no choice but to flee south. Even there, safety was impossible, the house they took shelter in was destroyed. Since then, they’ve been crammed into overcrowded spaces, sometimes with 25+ people in one room, struggling with extreme food shortages and unbearable living conditions.

Before the war, Nihal was building her dream as a freelance interior designer, establishing her own office in September 2023. Now, it's all gone, her office, her work, everything she invested in. Amjad, an accountant, had worked for years to save up and open his own business, first a commercial store, then a small cafeteria. Both were bombed before he could even recover his capital.

They never wanted to ask for help. But now, their children’s lives are in danger. They have nothing left, no home, no income, no security. All they want is to start over, to give their children a safe and quiet life.

Yehia & Laila: A Stolen Childhood

Yehia was supposed to start first grade this year, excited to experience school for the first time. Now, he doesn’t even know what a school is. Instead of classrooms and playgrounds, his world is filled with displacement and survival. We try to teach him English and other things at home, but nothing can replace what he has lost, his innocent childhood, the joy of learning alongside friends, and the safety of a school.

His little sister, Laila, is our bundle of joy, but even her bright spirit has been dimmed by the war. She spent 11 months away from her grandparents and aunts, and when they were finally reunited, she didn’t recognize them. Her heart is too soft for this life, she has fainted multiple times from the terror of the bombings. No child should have to live in fear like this.

We Need Your Help to Survive and Rebuild

We are not just trying to survive the war, we are trying to preserve our future. Your support will help us:

Any donation, no matter how small, brings us closer to safety. Thank you for standing with us.