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A Cry from Gaza: The Story of Survival and Hope in the Face of War

Hello to the people of the world and to every compassionate heart.

My name is Ghazi Mekawi, a 22-year-old student studying laboratory medicine at Al-Azhar University. I come from a peaceful family that lived in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the Gaza Strip. Like many families here, we faced challenges of unemployment and the harshness of daily life — yet, before the war, we held on to moments of joy, love, and hope.

But everything changed on October 7, 2023.

When the war on Gaza erupted, life as we knew it crumbled. Sleep — once a fleeting escape from the hardships of reality — became a terrifying ordeal. We no longer worried about making ends meet. Instead, we feared whether we would live to see another sunrise or perish like so many friends and neighbors around us. The sound of bombs became a brutal lullaby, and survival turned into our only goal.

In those early days of war, my relatives and uncles sought refuge in our home, believing it to be safer. But on October 13, 2023, everything unraveled. My older brother received a chilling call from the occupation forces, ordering us to evacuate immediately and flee south. Fear gripped us. We gathered what little we could carry and fled our neighborhood — leaving behind our home, my family’s shop, our belongings, and the memories of a life we once cherished.

We sought shelter in Al-Maghazi camp, where we thought we might find safety. But after just 12 days, on October 25, 2023, a nearby bakery was bombed. Shrapnel tore into my left foot, leaving me injured. My brother suffered burns to his face. The house we were staying in was partially destroyed. Yet it was the only roof over our heads, so we patched it up as best we could.

But the bombings didn’t stop.

On November 4, 2023, the same bakery was bombed again. Thankfully, none of us were hurt, but by then, the message was clear: no place in Gaza was truly safe. We continued to endure, trapped between survival and despair.

Then, on January 3, 2024, ground forces entered Al-Maghazi camp. We were trapped, surrounded by tanks and soldiers. There was no water, no food, no escape. We sat in darkness, listening to the relentless shelling, waiting for death to knock on our door.

Miraculously, on January 7, 2024, we managed to escape under the cover of bombardment and made our way to Rafah. There, with no relatives or friends to turn to, we built a makeshift tent — a temporary shelter for my family and me.

But even that refuge didn’t last. On May 28, 2024, after relentless bombing on Rafah’s Mawasi area, we were displaced for the sixth time. Six times we fled, and each time, we left behind another piece of our shattered lives.

I’ve lost my home. I’ve lost my family’s livelihood. I’ve lost friends who once brought joy to my life. The war has taken almost everything.

Yet the most painful loss is the feeling of helplessness — the inability to protect my family, to give them safety, to provide hope. In moments of despair, dark thoughts crept in. I thought about ending it all just to escape the humiliation and pain.

But I’m still here.

Despite everything, I refuse to give in to death and despair. I’m holding on, clinging to life, searching for a way to rebuild what the war has taken from me and my family.

I’m sharing my story with you not just as a plea for help, but as a call to humanity. I ask you to see Gaza through my eyes — through the eyes of a 22-year-old who dreams of peace, education, and a future free from fear and destruction.

Your donations will help me and my family leave Gaza, complete my education, and start again. We need to raise $50,000 to exit Gaza through Egypt and secure a new beginning. Every dollar brings us one step closer to that dream.

I hope you hear my voice through these words, and I hope, one day, we can all live in a world where peace prevails.

With gratitude and hope,

Ghazi Mekawi