My Name is Cathy and I am helping Ibtasem to support her family in Gaza. I first met Ibtasem when she arrived here with her very sick child in December. Ibtasem has sadness in her eyes as she had to leave Gaza to save her son who has Haemophilia, by doing this, she had to leave her son, Ameen, behind in Gaza.

Can you imagine how that felt for her? The agony she feels every day?

Here is her story.

I am a woman from Gaza. I used to live a stable life in my home with my small family. Then the war came and destroyed everything and tore us apart.

My house was completely destroyed, and my land was taken because it is close to the border. We were forced to flee to Deir al-Balah. During our displacement, my husband’s entire family was bombed — his brother, who was a journalist, his mother, his wife, and all his siblings, their spouses, and their children — all were killed. My husband was also injured.

After all this, I was forced to travel to seek treatment for my second son, who is ill. I had to leave my husband and other son behind under extremely harsh conditions. There was no treatment available for my son inside Gaza due to the siege, the closures, and the ongoing war.

I left Gaza to seek treatment first in Egypt, but I couldn’t find proper care there either. Eventually, I traveled to Ireland hoping for help.

I am reaching out to ask for support for my family in Gaza. They are living in extremely tragic and unbearable conditions. Please, help them survive.