Help Nadera see her grandchildren again

Hi there. My name's Gabriel, and I live in London. I'd like to introduce the story of my friend Musab and his mum, Nadera, from the Gaza Strip in Palestine. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read these words, and open your heart for Nadera.

My name is Musab. I am from Gaza, Palestine. I am launching this campaign to help my mother Nadera, who has suffered greatly since the war on the Gaza Strip began on 7 October 2023. She has lost everything in this merciless war that has killed the elderly, women and children.

The last months have felt incredibly long for Nadera, as if they were years. She has been separated from her sons for most of this time. In the first week of the war, I fled with my small family to her house, where my brother also resides. Soon after, however, the occupation forced us to evacuate to the southern part of the Gaza Strip. This is when the long journey of pain and separation began. I had to evacuate, but my mother refused to leave her house, where she had lived for 16 years, because it was all she had. My brother and his family stayed with her, despite the continuous and relentless bombing.

Due to the constant fear, and my brother’s insistence, our parents used to go to Al-Quds Hospital in search of safety, staying there at night and returning home in the morning. The intensifying bombing and the proximity of the occupation and its military vehicles in the Tel al-Hawa area made my brother fear for them. He persuaded them to go to my sister’s house in another area, while he and his family stayed at the hospital for 40 days. The military eventually surrounded the area, and ordered everyone to evacuate to the south.

My parents were separated from their children, and left alone in the Strip. My father refused to evacuate to the south, considering it an exile from his homeland. Without access to medication for his high blood pressure, his health deteriorated severely. Nadera had to take care of him, despite herself being old and unable to bear these conditions. She tried to help him in every way possible, but she had to endure more pain when he eventually passed away as a result of the war. My mother went into deep grief.

Buildings on Nadera's street after being hit by Israeli bombs

Amid the harsh days of war and incessant bombing, Nadera struggled with the living conditions and the lack of food and drinking water. Shortly after she finally left Tel al-Hawa, she received devastating news: the bombing of the residential tower where her home was located, and its total destruction.

The building where Nadera’s apartment is located.

Communicating with her children was also difficult, due to the lack of phone and internet services for most of the time during the war. Even when the service was back, it was so weak that I could not call her. Once, I lost connection with her for over three weeks, not knowing if she was even alive or not. No one of us knew anything about the others.

These were heavy days. No one in the world can bear such conditions. The siege around the Strip was tightened more and more by the army, to the point where people couldn’t even find a loaf of bread. This “life” wore Nadera out. Every time she managed to reach one of us by phone, she would cry throughout the call, and could only say, “The most important thing is that you are okay.” Many days and nights passed like this; none of us could sleep because of fear of hearing about the death of one of us, or another relative. Among the tragic news was the death of my mother’s sister-in-law, along with her children.

Musab and Nadera's grandson, Zain

None of us have been able to provide any help to my mother, due to our separation in the north and south of the Gaza Strip. After being displaced four times within the Strip, and feeling huge guilt for the family members I was leaving behind, I eventually managed to travel to Egypt with my wife and our young children. My mother is still experiencing harsh pain and suffering, and has been waiting for so long for the news of a ceasefire, and to embrace her children. I am now launching this campaign to alleviate some of her pain and help her find a safe refuge.

Your support will help Nadera get back on her feet again. She lost her home which was shared by my brother and his family. Your donations will help her to purchase essential supplies, and either rebuild her home in Gaza or move to Egypt and start anew there.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you!