Hey my friends,

We are Aseel and Mohammed, from Gaza. We have lived through things no one should ever have to witness, and we are trying to find a way forward — especially now, with our first child on the way.

Aseel is pregnant, and we are living in a rented shelter in poor condition, close to military presence, far from any real safety. We have no home of our own, no salary, and no steady income of any kind.

We don't know how we will feed ourselves, cover rent, or afford what our baby will need to arrive safely and be cared for. Every day we worry about how we will give our child even the most basic things — a roof, food, warmth, care.

Mohammed watched a bomb explode right beside him, and it killed his closest friend. The same explosion left him with a serious head injury — for two months he couldn't walk, see, or hear properly. He still carries shrapnel in his leg from it, three years later, visible on his X-rays, with no way to get the surgery he needs. Our home was completely destroyed. Food has become a daily fight for survival — there have been days we've had to drink salted water and walk long distances just to gather wood to cook a meal.

Both of us hold Bachelor's degrees in English. Aseel is a teacher. Mohammed is a translator and writer. But the war took our work and our income away, and right now we have no way to earn a living.

Our dream is to reach safety in Australia, where we have friends who are already trying to help us get there. We have tried every way we know to make this happen, and it has not been possible on our own. Getting there would mean our child could be born and raised somewhere safe, away from fear, with people who care about us close by.

We are asking for help to:

- Have a home of our own, away from danger

- Get enough food to survive

- Cover the costs of bringing our baby safely into the world and caring for him afterward

- Find a way to reach safety in Australia, with our friends who are helping us there

- Begin rebuilding a life with dignity and stability for our family

We have already lost so much — a home, a friend, our health, our sense of safety. We are asking you to help us hold on to what's left: each other, our unborn child, and the hope of a real life and a future for our family, together and safe.

Thank you for reading our story. Any help, no matter the size, means the world to us.

— Aseel & Mohammed

The X-ray for injury

Our baby: