Help Nesma's family in Gaza

Hello, I am Nesma Hamto, a Palestinian journalist from the Gaza Strip. I lived through previous wars in Gaza and covered them during my journalistic work. Fortunately for me, I currently live in Belgium, but my worst fate began on October 7th. Our dreams were shattered on this day, since the beginning of the war, and I have become the sole breadwinner for my brothers in Gaza and their families.

My family's dreams were demolished and dissipated after the date of October 7. My family is very large, and we did not expect to reach this day. We are 7 people, my parents, 4 brothers, and 2 sisters.

My older sister, Wissam, is married and her husband was killed by Israel in 2004. She has 3 daughters and a son who are orphans, and she now lives in northern Gaza with my father. Her son is also married and has a baby. Her daughter Bisan, is married and her husband is a prisoner in Israel. She has a two year old son and a daughter who is only a few months old. Her other daughters are Lina and Iman, who is also married. In late June, the Israeli army stormed the school where my niece and her sister took refuge and forced them to leave their clothes and supplies and walk in the middle of the night to southern Gaza. My sister has also suffered twice from a stroke.

My younger sister Suheir has 6 children: 18 year old triplets, 13 year old twin daughters and a 9 years old son. She was bombed more than once and narrowly escaped death, and walks more than 3 kilometers daily to get drinking water.

My brother Hossam is married and his wife, Nidaa, is pregnant and suffers from anemia and malnutrition. They also have 3 sons (13, 8 and 5 years old) and a daughter (14).

My brother Bassam has 2 sons (12 and 9 years old) and a daughter (3).

My brother Moamen is married and has no children.

My youngest brother, Muhammad, has three sons (9, 4, 1) and his wife is pregnant. He had once again finished building a small apartment for him, his wife, and his three children. It cost him 10 years of his life, and in one moment his dream ended and he lost his only source of livelihood. His greatest dream became providing for the needs of his infant child, who has now just turned one.

The elderly are in a very difficult situation. They cannot provide food and drink. Famine has struck their empty stomachs. They roam Gaza searching for a morsel of food to satisfy their hunger.

My family was living in the Shuja'iya neighborhood before it was destroyed by the Israeli occupation army. The family was dispersed: some arrived in Rafah, south of Gaza, and settled in a tent on the seashore, with the wind knocking on its sides, sleeping on the ground and using the sky as a cover for them, and others who were unable to continue their journey on foot and stopped in the Al-Zawaida area, facing their fate. There, their situation is like that of the displaced, and the others are still in northern Gaza, and hunger is knocking in their intestines.

And here I am, unable to help them at all. I am also a mother of three children without a father.

Merely surviving through this genocide is extremely expensive. We are a large family, as I mentioned before. I cannot do this thing. I cannot cover all these expenses, and neither can those concerned, leaving us to suffer from the scourges of psychological warfare and the scourges of physical pain that has always accompanied us and has worsened.

We are in need of urgent intervention to help save the lives of women, children and civilians. This is all I ask of all compassionate hearts.

The financial cost of helping my family with daily needs and essentials in North and South Gaza, 33 people, 18 of whom are under 18 years old, is $250 (US dollars) per person, per month. 33*250= $8,250 and 8,250*6= $49,500. This calculation is for 6 months.

Additionally, there is a 31% commission which will be deducted because the fees of bringing cash into Gaza are high, due to the lack of cash already in Gaza.