Help us evacuate Abdullah's family from Gaza!

Note: A full breakdown of this campaign's expenses, and the method of transfer used are published at the bottom of the page.

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Dear friends, my name is Sharon Cohen, and I am hosting this fundraiser on behalf of Abdullah Ghunaim's family in Gaza, as gofundme does not provide services in their country. Abdullah is my best friend Ellie's colleague, and someone we have all come to care deeply about during this war.

On the 17th of February, our friend Abdullah lost half of his immediate family in a devastating airstrike in Al Qarara in Gaza. Abdullah lost his father, four brothers, and two young nephews. The rescue attempts in the weeks following the attack caused extreme trauma to the surviving family members. Many dear loved ones died in the rubble in the horrific aftermath of this attack.

This fundraiser is an urgent appeal to evacuate Abdullah and his surviving family members to Egypt, which is a costly and difficult process. The border between Egypt remains sealed, and Gazans who need to leave are forced to pay extraordinary sums of money for each family member who wishes leave the besieged enclave.

Our urgent evacuation campaign includes five children, including two baby girls, a 3 month old and 8 month old, Abdullah's beloved nieces.

Abdullah's Story:

Abdullah Ghunaim is a member of a family in Gaza who were dedicated to making Palestine sustainable and energy-independent. Abdullah's business was founded to bring solar energy products to Gaza, bringing clean, green energy to many families and businesses in the strip. His many friends and colleagues around the world look to him as a role model, for his commitment to a modern, sustainable, energy-efficient Middle East.

As war broke out in October 2023, Israeli forces invaded Abdullah's neighbourhood, destroying his solar energy business and factory in Deir Al Balah, and demolishing his home nearby. The life that he built was reduced to rubble.

Fleeing for safety, Abdullah ended up in Rafah where he took refuge with his immediate family who had also evacuated to the city. As the IDF invaded Rafah and shelled the city in the beginning of February 2024, Abdullah's family decided, for the safety of their children and grandchildren, that they would evacuate to Al Qarara, where they believed they would be safe from the constant missile attacks.

Tragically, they were not. An airstrike blew up the building in which they were staying, killing Abdullah's father, brothers, cousins, nephews and brothers-in-law. The missile created a fire which burnt for hours, leaving almost no survivors in the rubble, and making rescue missions impossible.

Desperate attempts to rescue the family members from the blaze after the airstrike failed, and the children died trapped beneath the rubble. The family continued their search for the remains of those missing, after burying their grandfather, and tried to give everyone a respectful burial.

The trauma and shock of this event has forced the Ghunaim family to conclude that they are not safe in Gaza- every day is a struggle for survival, and the nights bring bombs to every place they have sought shelter.

For five months, as we tried to evacuate Abdullah and his loved ones diplomatically, airstrikes claimed the lives of countless of his friends and family members. There is not a day that passes without a funeral.

However, the sheer tragedy of losing his entire immediate family in one afternoon, is a tragedy that has woken up his friends to the danger that he faces. If we do not evacuate him and his remaining family members now, their chances of survival are growing smaller and smaller.

As everyone witnessing this humanitarian catastrophe is aware, entry to Egypt for Gazans is forbidden, unless you hold a second citizenship or a valid visa for another country.

Like everyone else in Gaza, Abdullah faces only one option to save his family and exit Gaza. To pay 5000 dollars per family member to the Egyptian Administration, to pass through the Rafah crossing to safety into Egypt. This huge sum has prevented most Gazans from leaving the warzone, trapping civilians into a devastating situation.

Every day brings a new risk and a new threat, as the IDF have occupied all cities previously declared 'safe zones'. Stray bullets, airstrikes, and constant artillery fire and lack of food make the threat of death, serious injury, or starvation a reality for Abdullah and his family members.

We urgently need to raise funds to save his life and those of the family members who will accompany him, and to allow them to safely pass into Egypt. This includes his mother, sisters, and the children orphaned by the blast that killed his father and brothers.

Funds raised will be used to pay the 5000 dollars demanded by Egyptian officials for the safe passage of each family member into Egypt. Any further donations will be used to support them while they apply for asylum through the UNHCR in Egypt, an expensive and worrisome interim period.

Help us bring Abdullah, his mother Nisreen, his sisters Aya and Fatima, their husbands, and their four children, to safety. Rose, a three month old newborn baby, born to Fatima in the middle of this horrific and brutal war, has known no single night without bombing, fear, and fleeing. Her cousins are also only two years old and one year old- children who are living extreme trauma every day for five months, and whose lives are threatened every night by airstrikes. We will also try to evacuate Bilal, Abdullah's younger brother, and his wife Eman, and their 8 month old daughter Alma and her 4 year old brother.

We must help them now! The children and their parents and grandmother need to be brought to safety immediately! Newborn baby Rose needs to heal from the bombing that targeted her home, and killed her beloved grandfather while she was only two months old. 8 month old baby Alma needs urgent evacuation. The cognitive trauma of constant daily bombing for these babies is a serious condition, which is why we urgently need to secure their safety.

Please help us to save the life of a dear friend and special human being, and his beautiful family! Abdullah, 32 years old, also has a whole life to live, and many dreams unfulfilled, shattered by the war in his homeland.

Act now and help us get Abdullah and his surviving family members to safety! Let's save this family from the cruel war which has already claimed so many of its members.

Thank you, immensely, in advance to all who donate. We ask that you share Abdullah's story on social media, and empower this family by raising awareness of the tragedy that Gazan families like the Ghunaim family, are facing. Like all civilians in Gaza, their single wish is to survive, and bring their children to safety. Together, we can help them survive and rebuild their lives.

Breakdown of the expenses:

Rafah Crossing Fee for Adults $5000 - 9 adults 45000$ total

Rafah Crossing Fee for Children $2500 - 5 children 12000$ total

(57,500$ allocated to crossing fees)

Rent and Living expenses (food, healthcare, ) in Egypt for 3 months- 7500$

Total: $65000

Gofundme charges a transaction fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per donation- we are grateful to those who add this to their donation.

Funds raised for crossing fees will be transferred from Sharon's bank account in the UK to Abdullah's sponsor in Egypt to evacuate the family through Hala organisation in Cairo, and the remaining funds for living expenses will be transferred to Abdullah's personal bank account after his family's safe evacuation.