IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!!
690 Days of Genocide
Dear friends,
First, thank you so much for your continued support. I want to share with you how the funds raised so far have been used, and why your donations are still urgently needed.
How the funds are being used:
With your help, we’ve been able to support 180 families so far.
These funds do not only go directly to my immediate family. In fact, they are distributed with the goal of prioritizing everyone equally based on urgent need — whether they are from our extended family or displaced families in my family's area (Al-Sawarha area of the Abuswaireh family in Nuseirat Refugee Camp).
Within our family alone, there are 56 families. As such, I would like to remind or reiterate that the donations raised do not just go to one family circle, nor to a couple of people, rather this fundraiser covers nearly 3,000 people when counting relatives and those displaced nearby. The needs are overwhelming because every round of donations is stretched across as many families as possible.
Because of this, even when large amounts are raised, they stretch thin once distributed. Every round of donations is divided among thousands of people.
What each family receives
Each donation round is used to purchase essential food packages — usually containing rice, lentils, flour, cooking oil, sugar, salt, tomato paste and other necessities. Unfortunately, when broken down, this often amounts to less than $50 worth of food per family — enough to last only about a week. In the most recent round of donations we were able to immediatelt support 115 families. Please see the video I will link to the fundraiser.
In addition to food, your donations also go toward clean drinking water.
How distribution works
We are grateful to have a family council and a respected mukhtar who oversee the process fairly and systematically. Once every round of donations is sent, the family council meets with the mukhtar to see how to evenly distribute the packages, assess the cost of each food item, liquidate the donation at the lowest possible rate, etc. This takes a high level of organization which I am very grateful for. As mentioned, the funds go not only to direct relatives or the extended family but to around 124 families currently displaced in our area which we also have the obligation to distribute these funds to. Because donations are so limited for how many people they are meant to support, food distribution is prioritized for:
Families with newborns
Families with elderly members
Families of martyrs (including widows and orphaned children)
Families with no income
Larger families with six or more members
Unfortunately, when donations are too small, many other families in urgent need cannot be covered.
Challenges on the ground
Inflation and shortages mean that food is much more expensive in Gaza, so even seemingly large donations are quickly consumed.
Sometimes, when smaller donations come in, the family council must wait until enough funds accumulate to make a meaningful bulk purchase.
While there are now periods where more aid and stock are available to buy, the funds to purchase them often run out quickly — which is why consistent donations are so critical.
Another major challenge is that food sellers in Gaza mostly accept cash, not bank transfers, which means the donated money must be liquidated. This comes at a steep cost: typically a 37–39% cut when converting donations into usable cash. To minimize the impact of this loss, the family council often waits until a larger sum of donations is available before liquidating, so the money can go further once it is used to purchase food in bulk.
Most importantly: after each round of donations is sent, liquidated, and distributed, the families are left with zero funds. There is no leftover money. In fact, there is often not even enough to cover all the urgent needs of families in our area, Al-Sawarha Nuseirat. This means that with every new round, we are forced to begin from scratch — and that is why we need your support again now.
Why your donation matters
Please don’t think your donation is too small to help. Even the smallest contributions have already made a significant difference to thousands of people. Unlike large organizations where aid can be delayed or redirected, your support here directly reaches families in urgent need. This mutual aid makes a direct impact, and this fundraiser reaches thousands.
I also want to emphasize: even when it “there is no aid going into Gaza,” your donations still matter. By the time funds are liquidated, stock eventually becomes available, and we can act quickly.
Final words
Every donation, no matter the size, is immediately put to use feeding families, giving clean water, and helping people in these forced starvation conditions. We are deeply grateful for your solidarity and compassion.
It can be difficult at times to raise awareness while also respecting the privacy and dignity of those receiving support. But I also believe it’s important to share how these funds are distributed and to remind everyone that this fundraiser is not supporting just a handful of people — it is stretched across nearly 3,000 people. So while the total raised so far may look like a lot, in reality it is never enough given the scale of need.
This should not be seen as a “side charity.” It is mutual aid in the truest sense: a collective act of solidarity that is directly feeding people and keeping families alive under genocidal conditions. Your donations here are not symbolic — they are tangible action, making a real difference right now.
Thank you for standing with us through these 690 days . Please continue to share and support this fundraiser so we can keep helping thousands of people survive.
With gratitude,
Hajar Ibrahim
Another Note
And one last update/clarification, is that this last round of donations distributed as food packages supplies is enough to support for example a family of 6 for a week to 10 days maximum. This update is to urge consistent donation so that distribution can be more frequent and reach as many as possible without long times of waiting between each donation with no food supplies.
I hope that the each house of the honorable family will receive its share, and God is the guarantor of that... All greetings, respect, and appreciation to our patient family who endure pain, hunger, and illness in this genocidal war.
And in all, everyone in Gaza is our family - by this, I hope to those reading from abroad and from the diaspora that they see this fundraiser as their own as well — as something to carry forward, sustain and share with as much energy as possible. We are very grateful for this.
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
After surviving the most brutal genocide for over 470 days in Gaza, my family (Abuswaireh) based in Nusairat Refugee Camp require your aid in order to survive and rebuild their homes. This fundraiser comes after a difficult year and a half in which my family survived extreme terror and deprivation and relied solely on members of the family residing abroad in the diaspora. It is with a very heavy heart that we make this fundraiser with both the recognition that the time is now, in the ceasefire phase, where we can help the most and send money to our families much more easily; as well as with our family in Gaza's approval to make this fundraiser despite a strong stigma attached to asking strangers for help. Reaching out to you today, we hope you can help us with any little amount day by day to reach our goal and support our family's survival in Nusairat. Donation is a minimal task but goes a long way as most members of the family remain out of work and without income for over a year and a half. It is only now, with the current cessation of bombings in Gaza, that my family can return only to witness the destruction of their generational homes.
Despite the ceasefire, the 'day after' the ceasefire is a dawning reality where Gazans are still displaced in tents and have no source of income to rebuild their life, living in continually genocidal conditions whereby day by day survival extends into an enduring struggle. Today, our efforts from outside of Palestine should be to help restore life and living in Gaza and support families to remain steadfast on their lands.
During this genocide, 20 members of our family were martyred. Above are some images of some of our family homes that were bombed. More than 400 members (30 families) of our greater family are without proper shelter, still living in tents. Twenty buildings were completely destroyed, and some are partially destroyed (as seen in the images) yet remain unliveable. We need to fix at least doors, walls and windows for people to be able to return and live.
We also need to support our family to buy food and minimal supplies, especially as Ramadan approaches. As you may have heard, food prices in Gaza are extortionate and this is coupled with a very minimal supply of humanitarian aid that is controlled and prevented from entry into Gaza by the occupation. Three kilograms of flour costs 60 shekels (16.8$) and to support the greater family we require at least 200 bags of flour which would be around 3400$ to feed the whole family for a month. A parcel of vegetables costs around 70$ and the family requires at least 50 parcels monthly as a minimum (total 3500$). The tent living conditions and spreading disease with the lack of health infrastructure necessitates basic cleaning supplies for survival (50 detergents are worth 50$ and we need around 50 parcels which is a total of 2500$). We also need to afford blankets during this cold weather, with each blanket costing 27$, we need at least 80 blankets (total 2,160$). Additionally, some families need to repurchase tents after severe bombings during their displacement. Each tent costs 2500 shekels (700 dollars), and at least 10 new tents are needed (7000$).
During this genocide, 11 baby's were born and the monthly expense for their care is around 70$ each (that is 770$ per month). There are also six members who are disabled and their monthly care amounts to 70$ each (total 2800$). Additionally there are 40 elderly family members and their needs require around 70$ each per month, amounting to 2800$.
In total, for basic necessities my family needs at least 24,930$ to survive on a monthly basis. This does not include the costly effort of rebuilding their homes which is why we ask for more funds to be raised than the minimum basic necessities so that the thirty displaced family's can live in warmth, privacy and dignity in their homes.
Thank you
