<div><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2026/6/13/separated-by-the-gaza-war-a-palestinian-yearns-to-see-his-family-again" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">See my story in comic form on Al Jazeera (click here to navigate to link)</a>
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<div>I am Shady Mufeed Al-Areer from Gaza, 36 years old, a father of 3 kids, Amir (2 years old), Aoun (7 years old), and Mufeed (9 years old), and husband to my wife Manar.
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<div>Gaza is in a severe humanitarian crisis and nowhere is truly safe even from attack. Before October 7, 2023, on which day a historic genocide began, I was working outside Gaza as a hotel worker to help cover the cost of rebuilding a home for my family, and since war started, I became separated from my family. I became the sole source of income for my wife, three kids, parents, and siblings and nieces and nephews.
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<div>In the "war" on Gaza, I have lost my house a second time, after I rebuilt it following its bombardment in the 2014 war, when I was a newlywed. We lived in a neighborhood called Shuja’iyya—a famous Gazan neighborhood of about 300,000 people known for their strength and courage. This neighborhood was heavily targeted in the 2014 war. Israeli soldiers were booby-trapping houses and buildings in the neighborhood. When that war ended, we went home, and found our home completely destroyed along with my uncles’ houses next to it.
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<div>My 5 cousins were under the rubble of the house. I was trying to rescue one of them, named Mohammed—his hand was severed from his body. This was one of the hardest days of my life. My house smelled of death everywhere, along with gunpowder. Everything I owned was shattered, including my memories. I cried on the rubble for hours.
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<div>Then I started looking for some memories, some remnants of pictures. I found my wedding bowtie. It brought me a smile when I was tired and having a bad day. I kept it in hope it would bring me luck. I kept the things I collected and the remnants of my memories and put them, with the fatigue of the years, in my new home. But my new home became ashes in the genocide. If I search for memories, will I find them? I don’t know. People there say they burned everything, and nothing was left of use. Most of the Gaza Strip is destroyed now. Where will we go after the war? In tents until when?
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<div>Before the 2023 war, I would go to work in Haifa for a month or more at a time when my work request would get approved. I would come home bringing lots of gifts and toys for my children. After my first week of this work, my wife called me and told me that she was pregnant with our third child. When he was born, I wasn't with him—I was working in a far away city. I went to see him a week after he was born. I threw a party, gathered all my relatives and invited them to dinner. I stayed with them for a week but he was very young.
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<div>I went to work again and returned after two months. I was very happy. It was a beautiful week for me, my children, my wife, my mother and my father. We went to the zoo, the amusement park, restaurants, and the beach.
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<div>Then I went back to work…
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<div>I had about 35 days at work and was supposed to go home on Wednesday 10/4. The manager refused to give me leave and postponed it to Monday 10/9. The war started 10/7 and I couldn’t return to Gaza. I escaped to Ramallah and stayed here knowing no one.
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<div>My wife, children, parents and two brothers were displaced more than 7 times, living in a tent in a refugee camp in the city of Deir al Balah for most of the 2023-2025 "war". They have been surrounded by the terrifying sounds and sights of bombing and death. Water is scarce due to the bombing of desalination plants and main tank. Food and other necessities skyrocketed to astronomical prices—after the ceasefire, prices for necessities have almost returned to normal.
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<div>The children of the camp made a toy car for my son Amir, one you drag across the ground:
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<div>My son Mufeed tells me that he took two toys when they ran away from home at the start of this war, Spider-Man and Batman, and still keeps them. His grandfather gave him a bicycle because he was first in his class at school. He told me he was very happy with the bike—for only a week before this war came. Mufeed was a very diligent student, loves sports, and dreamt of becoming a medical device engineer like his grandmother, but now almost all schools in Gaza have been bombed by Israel or forced to be turned into refugee shelters.
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<div>Aoun is very affectionate, young but affectionate—he is very compassionate and kind. And also stubborn, like his mother haha. He wouldn’t leave me, always by my side, wanting to go with me everywhere. He used to sleep between his mother and me for a long time.
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<div>Amir—a prince I don’t know much about, and I miss him the most. The cover picture on this GoFundMe is the last time I saw him. He has a beautiful face. Amir made me happy. I remember the day my wife put him next to me while I was sleeping and he started playing with my face. I woke up with a wonderful smile.
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<div>I do not usually ask for help, but current circumstances force me to kindly ask you: please help me sustain my family’s needs and build a new life.
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<div>As a father and a husband, there is nothing I currently wish for except to have my children and wife escape death from war. Before the ceasefire, the fees to exit Gaza reached over 5,000 US dollars per adult and 3,000 US dollars per child as Egyptian company Hala Tourism profited off of the "war." Now, my goal is to raise approximately $40,000 for <strong>the cost of rebuilding our home, reacquiring the essentials in it that were destroyed, and reuniting with my family</strong> as we miss each other so much and should be together especially during these difficult times. My wife and I are also seriously considering traveling out of the country due to the anxiety that Palestine is still not safe for sure, and our wish for stability after suffering so much war—in which case, the money raised would go toward renting an apartment and rebuilding our life in our new location when we are able to travel.
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<div>All we want is to live in peace. I don’t understand why we are not treated as humans.
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<div>Thank you to everyone from the bottoms of our hearts for your interest and for donating and sharing. Our safety is only possible with your help.
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Amira S

Amira So

Jennifer L Curran

Fer Silva Tiscareño

Help Shady's Family Survive Gaza's War

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