Hello, My name is Lina Zakout, and I am a Palestinian-Canadian living in London, Ontario Canada.

It is with great sadness that I am seeking to evacuate my family members living in Gaza. My sister, Nisreen Tafesh, her husband Sami Tafesh, and their five children (Ahmad, Hadeel, Aseel, Nadeen and Abdalrahman), are trapped in a war zone and desperate to escape.

Nisreen’s husband Sami suffers from recurring kidney stones and ureters and needs a kidney stone removal operation. Hospitals in Gaza are inundated with patients who are wounded due to the war, and are facing collapse, so it is near impossible for her husband to receive treatment at this time.

My sister's family was displaced from their home in northern Gaza, which was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, and had to flee to the central region of Gaza. There, they suffered from overcrowded living conditions as they were sheltering with multiple other families in the same home. They were forced to flee a second time by the Israeli military and had to move further south. The second home they were sheltering in was also very overcrowded and they suffered from a lack of food and water.

That house was subsequently damaged as a result of the bombing of a neighbouring house. They were forced to evacuate a third time, and now the family of seven is living in a small tent, which barely has the basic necessities for life. The tent is cold and constantly gets flooded with rainwater, which soaks everything. They were displaced a sixth time when there was heavy bombardment in their tent’s area.

My nephews and nieces are suffering from the trauma of the war. They lost their home with all its memories. Their university education is on hold indefinitely and their dreams have been shatteredI haven't seen them since 2007, and the last time I saw my sister Nisreen herself was in 2018, when we were able to meet together in Amman.

My sister's family is suffering from hunger, cold, fear, and the extreme hardship of life in the tent. There is a possibility that Rafah will be invaded at any moment, and my sister’s family is exposed to danger from air or ground bombardment, in addition to being displaced for the seventh time!! They are terrified by the idea of ​​the invasion, and it causes them psychological tension, lack of sleep, and panic.

They are desperate to escape the warzone and move to the safety of neighbouring Egypt before the invasion occurs. But the costs of leaving Gaza are incredibly high, due to enormous border crossing fees. The cost per person to cross through the Rafah border is more than 5,000 US dollars (roughly 7000 CAD). My sister’s family also needs to cover the costs of housing and other expenses in Egypt until they can get their life in order again, as well as the costs of the kidney stone operation for my sister’s husband, Sami. Finally they also need to cover expenses like food while they are still in Gaza.

I am asking for your generosity and to help me reach my goal of $100,000 CAD for this GoFundMe.

Here is the breakdown of the funds:

An approximate $50,000 CAD has been allocated towards border crossing fees

$45,500 CAD will be used to provide food and other necessities for Nisreen’s family while they are still in Gaza, as well as the living expenses in Egypt once they are able to cross the border. They are also hoping to use the funds to start rebuilding their lives if they are able to return to Gaza.

An approximate total of $4,500 CAD will be used to cover GoFundMe's transaction fees (2.9% plus $0.30 per donation)..

The evacuation plan is organised by Ya Hala company which is situated in Nasr city in Egypt.

Thank you for taking the time to read my family’s story. We appreciate any donation, no matter how small or large. I thank you in advance for your generosity and support to help my sister’s family survive this crisis.