HELP OUR FAMILIES IN GAZA!!

HELP OUR FAMILIES IN GAZA!!

My name is Mustafa Jaber. I am originally from Gaza, Palestine. I moved to the US in 2005 to join a graduate school program in Rochester, NY. Now, my family and I live in California, USA.

Today, as the Israeli ground assault looms on Rafah, my family and in-laws have nowhere to go. My wife (also originally from Gaza) and I are extremely worried about the safety of our families and fear for their lives each passing day. My wife and I are raising 170,000 USD to help my mom, sister, brother (with his little family), my in-laws, and my brother-in-law (with his little family). Your donations would be utilized in different ways: one is to fund their everyday expenses while they are trying to be safe and temporarily moving from one place to another in the south of Gaza; the other is to secure a shelter / pay for rent till their houses are rebuilt (when the war is over, hopefully soon); and finally to pay for their move-out of Gaza - if needed due to the lake of humanitarian living conditions there.

My family and in-laws moved from Gaza to the south in November 2023 and already moved to four different places since then. Now, they are in Rafah and have no idea where to go next. We are trying to help them avoid the worst-case scenario which is moving to tents on Rafah Beach. These tents are not equipped with the functionality for extended stays, especially in the cold rainy winter season.

My mom is 71 years old; she is a mother and a caring grandmother. Unfortunately, she has chronic conditions of diabetes and heart disease. My mom is elderly with limited mobility, and the war is just making it worse. My sister is an elementary school teacher. Both had to move from their house in the west of Gaza to my brother's apartment in central Gaza when the war started. The facade of my mom’s apartment was knocked down right after they left (see attached photo), so my mom and sister are lucky to be safe. After a month in my brother's apartment, my mom, sister, and my brother (and his little family) walked for hours out of Gaza to the south. My mom and sister stayed for another month in the Al-Nuseirat area and eventually moved to Rafah when the Israeli ground assault on Al-Nuseirat. In Rafah, the prices of everything are crazy high now. The lack of goods and medicine hiked prices to the roof. Securing my mom’s drugs is extremely hard and expensive - if found.

My brother Salah is a French language teacher, and his wife is a director at a local university in Gaza. My brother, his wife, and their four young daughters - Zena (13 years old), Seba (12 years old), Ghazal (9 years old), and Jury (6 years old) - had to leave their apartment and run for their lives. Later, Israeli airstrikes demolished their apartment building. Salah and his family just moved to their apartment early in 2023. Now, the apartment is gone yet they have a mortgage to pay off for the next few years. Salah and his family are in Rafah now. They live in a room at a friend’s house. Their next (and only) option is a tent on Rafah Beach. My younger niece is terrified of airstrikes and has nightly nightmares. The next two photos show my brother’s family before the war and the rubbles of their apartment building. Your donations would help my mom, sister, and brother (with his little family) secure a place in Deir al Balah City or leave Gaza temporally.

My in-laws live in a small village (Al-Mughraqa) just north of Gaza Wadi. They had a bountiful house that they had to leave in October 2023. Israeli airstrikes destroyed their house. Now, they live in an unfinished (cabin-style) building. My mother-in-law said she had never felt warm in this place despite wearing layered clothing. My mother-in-law also has a short-term sleep problem and usually uses a sleep aid drug which is rarely found now in the Gaza Strip. The photo shows the rubbles of my in-law’s house.

My brother-in-law Omar is a lead software engineer. He worked remotely as a web developer and backend engineer for many years. He mainly needs a stable internet connection to perform his duties on the job. However, the lack of power and internet connection in Gaza now (due to the current war situation) made it impossible for him to continue working and to provide for his family. Omar is a husband and a dad to two beautiful daughters, Tia and Maria. Tia is a beautiful five-year-old. She was in transitional kindergarten (TK) when the war started in October 2023. She does not attend school now as schools in the Gaza Strip are either destroyed or closed due to the war. Maria was born on March 24, 2023. She was six months old when the war started. Unfortunately, Maria lived almost half of her life in a war zone. She struggles the most as formula, baby food, and diapers are extremely hard to find in the Gaza Strip now. In addition, if found, all baby-related items (at least) quadrupled in price during the war. Maria has been eating milk and bread only and no other healthy food like vegetables or fruits. Omar and his wife fear this unhealthy diet would affect Maria’s physical and mental growth and thus plan to evacuate Gaza when they secure enough cash to do so.

My wife and I are counting on your generous support. Your donation impacts our families. Your help gives us hope that eventually everything will be OK, and our families will rebuild or fix up their houses and recollect their hopes, dreams, and memories to power through this calamity and live strong again. Our heartfelt thanks to you for taking the time to read this and share it!