Help Evacuate My Family from Gaza

This picture was captured exactly a year ago. That's me holding my three-year-old niece, Ayla. It marked my first encounter with her after my first visit after a six-year absence from Gaza, Palestine. It is one of the many pictures I scroll through every day on my phone to help comfort myself that my family and sisters' families are safe.

I am Ghadeer, and I'm starting this urgent appeal as a final attempt to evacuate my family from Gaza to Egypt. Your help in saving them is greatly appreciated.

The situation with my family:

Unfortunately, each member of my family has endured the consequences of the war in Gaza unfolding before your eyes on screens. During the war's first week, Oct 13, 2023, my sister Nashwa's home was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike targeting the building where her apartment is located, despite residing in the southern region, considered a safe zone. After relocating to a relative's house following the destruction of her home, Nashwa and her family were ordered to evacuate Khan Younis despite it being designated as a safe area. Consequently, they had to move once more to Rafah. Amidst the ongoing attacks on Rafah, my sister, her family, and our parents sought refuge in the Al-Mawasi area on Feb 16. Unfortunately, I've been unable to maintain direct contact with them since then.

This picture was captured in Nashwa's house, celebrating my niece's outstanding achievement in high school in Jul 2023. Present in the photo are my two sisters, two brothers-in-law, one brother, six nieces, and one nephew.

Another sibling, my brother Mohannad, sustained injuries, including a broken ankle, during an Israeli strike targeting a residential building in our neighborhood in Khan Yunis. Consequently, my parents and Mohannad had to evacuate to Rafah as our home became unlivable. Before ongoing war events, my parents have been receiving medical treatment for their severe blood pressure. However, it has been challenging to obtain the necessary medication for them or get enough food and adequate sleep in the past few months. Additionally, my mother is coping with joint pain, affecting her mobility, while also caring for my injured brother for the past four months. All three require urgent medical attention in a functional hospital, which is currently unavailable in Gaza. Last week, they relocated to a new area in Al Mawasi, hoping for safety. However, on Feb 20, we received distressing news that Israeli tanks had surrounded the area.

I captured this photo for my parents on Mar 6, 2023, at the Rafah crossing on the Palestinian side. They were waving goodbye to me while I was in the car on my way to travel out of Gaza, marking a heartfelt moment. My deepest hope is to reunite with them, knowing they are safe and in good health. I hope it does not become the last picture of them.

Abeer, my sister, remains in her partially damaged home in Rafah with her family after an Israeli airstrike hit a nearby residential building in late November 2023. Their house is without windows, and the roof leaks during this harsh winter. Despite that she and her husband have been struggling to find food and basic needs to feed their kids in the current humanitarian crisis, they have been assisting and accommodating numerous people in their home.

I humbly seek your financial support to facilitate the evacuation of my family from Gaza. Unfortunately, individuals like my family, who hold only a Palestinian passport without dual citizenship, are required to pay USD $5,000 per person to the Hala Company for securing an exit through the Rafah border to Egypt (and USD $2,500 for children under the age of 16). This means I have to pay around USD $60,000 to help evacuate all my family. These are my parents, four siblings, two brothers-in-law, eight nieces, and a nephew (details and names below). This financial burden is particularly challenging for me to do, in addition to renting a place for them in Egypt once they evacuate.

I appeal for USD $60,000. (That's around CA $81,000; the GoFundMe portal restricts the funds to be in Canadian dollars since I am in Canada). I will be traveling to Egypt to facilitate the evacuation and pay the fees for Hala Company myself.

I humbly seek your financial support to facilitate the evacuation of my family from Gaza. Once the situation allows, everyone in the family is looking forward to returning to Gaza. Please share the campaign with your network. I promise to keep you updated on the evacuation status, and if the war is put to an end or the evacuation becomes impossible for some or all family members for any reason, all your funds will go to rebuild the homes they once used to live in. Thank you for considering our plea and being a source of hope in our challenging times.

With my sincere gratitude,

Ghadeer