Help Reunite Noor's Family in Cairo!

Hi, my name is Menna and I am fundraising for Noor's family. I am an on-the-ground organizer from the 'Mutual Aid Network for Palestinians' and 'Egyptians for Palestinians' who volunteers at the Red Crescent Hospital in Cairo where I met Noor.

Noor is an 18-year-old girl from Northern Gaza who was medically evacuated to Egypt from Gaza after she was gravely injured in a bombing that killed her sister. Noor is unable to properly walk due to the injuries she sustained and is constantly fearful for her family members who were unable to be evacuated with her. She remains separated from her brothers, sister, and father, most of whom have also been injured and are currently struggling greatly in Gaza. Please read her story below, and help contribute to reuniting her with her family!

On the 15th of October, Noor and her family fled their first home in North Gaza and went to Al-Maghazi (middle of Gaza), where they stayed for three months. In January, it no longer became safe at Al-Maghazi, as tanks came in. They were forced to leave with their hands up in surrender and went to Rafah to seek safety.

In Rafah, Noor and her family stayed at her father's friend's house. Noor and her sister, Doha (20), were sitting outside on swings when their building collapsed right on top of them. The bombing which caused this catastrophe occurred in the Al-Amman area of Rafah. Doha was martyred by the building collapse, which was devastating for Noor as she said "we were so close that we would tell people we were twins, we might as well have been". You may have heard about the Beit Al-Hassi Massacre in which 50 people were martyred- that was the same attack in which no one survived -except Noor that is.

Her family (Sajida, 23 years old; Mohamed, 15 years old, and Ahmed 17 years old) were seeking shelter in the building next to Beit Al-Hassi and it suffered great damages. Sajida was in the shower and her arm and neck suffered severe injuries. As a result, she developed nerve problems which are still untreated. She suffers from great difficulty, even with daily tasks, in addition to chronic pain resulting from her injuries. Mohamed needed ~30 stitches in his head, and her mother also suffered severe injuries from shattered glass. Sajida's infant baby, Asala, was also injured. Ahmed was okay, Alhamdulillah.

Noor's parents were told that she would not survive, and she remained on oxygen for 3 weeks at the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis. Rocket fragments were embedded in her legs, arms, and face. Doctors were unable to remove fragments from her legs which caused nerve damage, which she is still currently affected by. After 1 month in the hospital, Noor was medically evacuated with her mother from Gaza to Red Crescent Hospital in Egypt. Unfortunately, she is not able to get sufficient medical treatment, due to the nature and severity of her injuries. but is hopeful that if she seeks medical treatment elsewhere, she will be able to walk again, InshaAllah. Right now, her biggest fear and hope is bringing her family together, and bringing them to safety.

Below are some images taken of Noor's injuries from when the bombing in Rafah:

Noor and her mother arrived in Cairo on March 6th, and have currently been in Egypt for 1 month. Noor is still unable to walk and is completely bedridden. She fears greatly for her brothers' lives; they are currently in a tent in Rafah near the Kuwaiti area, without any service. They are unable to contact each other as the boys' phones were damaged and obtaining cellular service in Gaza is very difficult. They have to rely on whatever news and calls they may get from other Gazans by chance.

The constant uncertainty adds to Noor and her mother's worry and concerns about their safety. She already lost two of her siblings before the war (2 brothers aged 2 and 7), who both had kidney failure and now, she's lost her closest sister. She doesn't want to lose any more family!!!

She wants to reunite with her father, brothers, sister, and her infant niece.

Ahmed was in his last year of high school before his education was interrupted; Ahmed always wanted to go to college like his older sisters and become an engineer. Mohamed was in 9th grade and said his dream was to travel and study business. They both did well in school and had high hopes.

The only option for boys and men to evacuate is through Hala (a travel agency organizing evacuations in Egypt) which charges $5,000 for each person over 16 and $2,500 for those under 16. Nobody knows how long registration will be open and so we are constantly operating as though we are out of time.

It would currently cost $5,000 each to evacuate her father, sister, and 17-year-old brother Ahmed, and $2,500 each for her youngest brother Mohamed and 3-month-old niece.

The total to evacuate all 5 members is $20,000.

The rest of the $2000 will go towards the gfm fees and resettling the family in Cairo for just the first 3 months (rent roughly costs around ~$170 a month while living expenses cost around $200- leaving the total to be around ~$1,110).

This fundraiser is spearheaded by myself- an on-the-ground volunteer based in Cairo. I communicate and check in with Noor on a regular- basis- who is such a sweet, strong, and thoughtful girl. She constantly tells me stories about her siblings growing up together and tells me how “it would mean everything to her” to have her family back together, here with her in Cairo.

Please help make it possible for her family.

Thank you for taking the time to read through Noor's story <3