Samaher must take care of her husband Al-A'id who has cancer and function as the primary earner for their family of 8. He had a tumor removed from one side of his chest, but it had spread to the other side. He has needed an operation for over two years but has been unable to access medical care or raise enough money to leave Gaza. He needs pain medication to manage his symptoms, but they cannot even afford to eat every day, so he goes without more often than not so that the children are taken care of first.

In addition to the cancer, Al-A'id suffers from a blood disorder called thalassemia that causes anemia, fatigue, sensitivity to cold, and more. He has been cut off from medical care for his two disabling and painful conditions.

Palestinians in Gaza have endured more than two years of an almost unprecedented assault. Samaher and her husband Al-A'id are struggling to survive in Gaza with their six children, Mu'ayyad (16), Omri (15), Saifullah (13), Taha (12), Al-Hussein (10), and Youssef (6). Due to ongoing displacement, assault, and blockades, they need donations to provide for their basic needs such as food and water, shelter, medical care, winter clothing, household items, and transportation. Everything costs money in Gaza.

They have had few supporters, but they still dream of finding enough donations to eat every day and to send the children to school for the first time in over 2 years. Winter weather with heavy rains and flooding has reached Gaza, wreaking havoc in an already brittle and embattled conclave. Over 90% of residential buildings have been destroyed and counting, while the medical, water, electrical, sewage, financial, and other critical infrastructure have been relentlessly attacked.

Current needs (December 2025):

$500-$700 to recover their belongings from their last displacement

$700 to winterize their shelter

$400 monthly to send the six children to K-!2 schools

And additional funds for food, medicine, and household items.

Al-A'id with the couple's six children in 2024, shortly before that tent was stolen, leaving the family without shelter. The children have been deprived of safety and basic needs for over two years. Little Youssef, now age 6, has never been to school. He's hoping to enroll in kindergarten.

Samaher is one of the most dedicated mothers you could know. She is holding her large family together in Gaza during an unimaginably difficult time. Palestinians in Gaza are survivors and their descendants who were displaced in the Nakba. The family had resided in Al-Shati refugee camp but after more than two years they have been displaced many times now. Samaher had been a homemaker who loved to help her children with their homework, and she loved to cook and bake. Their original home has been completely destroyed.

They have been displaced to Rafah, to Deir al-Balah, returned north to Gaza City, fled the bombardment of Gaza City to the streets of Deir al-Balah. They were left without shelter for two months on the streets without privacy or a place for toilet needs until they returned on foot, walking 11 km north to Gaza City. Their household items like mattresses and cooking fuel cannisters remain in the south where they were last displaced, exposed to weather and thieves until they can raise enough donations to recover the items. The family endures separation, with Al-A'id and Mu'ayyad (16) taking turns trying to guard and maintain the items while exposed to inclement weather.

From Samaher:

I hope [people] will donate to us for the sake of my children.

This is what remains of their home.

My name is Christa Robinson, and I am a grad student from Michigan. I befriended the mother of this family, Samaher Abed online. We communicate frequently, almost every day.

Samaher Mahmoud Abdullah Abed and her husband Al-A'id Taha Muhammad Abed and their young children have been displaced and are trying to raise their young children and keep them safe under very difficult and dangerous circumstances.

They will use the money donated for necessities like food, clothing, and medical care and will also be saving to rebuild their home. Al-A'id has needed surgery for a painful lump in his chest since summer 2024. Most of the time, he is unable to afford pain medication to manage his pain in order to feed the children.

Surgery is needed to correct this congenital deformity.

The surgery to fix this congenital deformity would require medical care that cannot be done in Gaza.

In addition, their daughter has a congenital deformity in her hand that needed an operation abroad, diagnosed in 2023. The daughter's medical care in particular has been disrupted by the war. They are not able to make plans for this care currently as the borders are closed and travel is very expensive, but they hope to also use the money for her care.

In June 2024, Samaher's son Mu'ayyad was treated for malnutrition. The family is all now struggling with acute malnutrition and its consequences with the constant blockades that are causing famines. He and the other children have suffered many maladies, and Mu'ayyad (16) is as of December 2025 ill with the flu due to exposure from staying alone without shelter to guard the family's household items from thieves.

The family faces malnutrition, dehydration, and other difficulties that stem from living through a dangerous and destabilizing war.

All donations are welcome, and regular donations are encouraged so that the family can once again begin to know where their next meal is coming from. They often go days without food, and suffer illnesses without medical care.