Help keep Nabil and his family alive

I know so many of you share my anguish at the terrible situation in Gaza. Just over a year ago I launched a fundraiser for my lifelong Palestinian friend, Nabil, who told me "We are just managing basic primitive life under continuous threat of death." I had been supporting him financially for a while, but when I received that message, I realised I needed to do more to get him and his family to safety.

Thanks to the support of hundreds of people, who rallied around and answered my call, we were able to raise almost $30,000 - enough to get Nabil, his wife and their six children to safety in Egypt. But, tragically, just as I was starting to send the money through to him, the Rafah border crossing was closed. They have been stuck in Gaza ever since - moving constantly to try to avoid the latest Israeli attacks and find secure shelter. Their original home was bombed. Several family members have been killed. Nabil and his immediate family have had several close brushes with death, but are still clinging on and surviving. But, they have run out of money to buy food.

Last month, Nabil told me his oldest daughter was wasting away with acute malnutrition. This week, he told me everyone in Gaza is desperate and exhausted and praying for peace. There is still not enough food. The water and air are contaminated with dust, and everyone has acute respiratory conditions. They are currently sheltering near a hospital, where he sees dead bodies and funerals every day.

I know this is only a drop in the ocean, to help one family, out of the millions of Palestinians who are also suffering. I also do not forget the Israeli victims of Hamas's attack, or the plight of the hostages and their families. But at least we can try to make a life-saving difference for one family. So, I am reactivating this gofundme again in the hope that we can at least help Nabil, his wife and their six children, aged from 24 to just 7 years old, stay alive, until a longer term ceasefire is achieved.

I met Nabil when I was 21, on a study programme at Birzeit University in the West Bank. Nabil became my friend and guide; and I spent many weeks with him and his family, including at their home in a refugee camp in Gaza. Later, I helped him secure a scholarship to obtain a Masters degree in environmental engineering at Newcastle University in the UK. Nabil is an educated man, a gentle giant, and loving father, who was living peacefully, until as a result of Hamas's appalling attack on 7 October, he became, in his own words "caught between two evils" - as Israel conducts its response, affecting everyone in Gaza, and creating immense humanitarian suffering.

Nabil says "We are now living in a building which has been bombed three times. Things were ok until Israel broke the ceasefire in March and imposed a blockade, preventing any goods, food or aid into the Gaza strip. Gradually shops and supermarkets became empty, food disappeared, and starvation began. Prices have rocketed 20 to 30 times. We are surviving on aubergines, tomatoes and cucumber, and sometimes bread and salt."

Again, I know that helping Nabil and his family is only a tiny humanitarian gesture against the magnitude of what is happening in Gaza. But, at least we can try to help them now - whilst also keeping pressure on our governments to do all they can to end the war, free the hostages, and renew diplomatic efforts to secure longer term safety for Israelis and Palestinians.

Please, please support this. Any amount helps. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Alex