EMERGENCY:HELP MY FAMILY TO REBUILD OUR HOUSE

"Hello, I'm Mahmoud Odah. I've witnessed our world collapsing beneath our feet. With my beautiful family of 21 members, we lost our home, our only refuge, due to the occupation sweeping through Gaza. All that remains are some worn-out clothes and personal documents. Our dreams were shattered along with our beautiful home, and when we fled to another place, the strikes came again, leaving behind fresh wounds and renewed tragedy.

Now, we find ourselves in the south of the country, without shelter or food, living in tattered tents amidst the biting cold and gnawing hunger, amid scarce resources and weak humanitarian support. We don't know our fate. Will our beautiful homeland, destroyed by the occupation, return to what it once was? Or are we condemned to remain in these dire conditions, where our dreams fade before our eyes, and we remain bound by sorrow and despair?

At the beginning of the war, specifically on 10/12/2023, the Israeli Occupation Forces have forced the people of Gaza residing in the north of the Gaza to move to its south, so my family and I fled to a modest house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, with an asbestos roof. The next morning, we woke up to an explosion. The occupation forces bombed the house directly opposite the house we were in. The asbestos ceiling fell on our heads and shrapnel flew at us. My three-year- old cousin suffered a fractured skull and underwent surgery. My aunt was also wounded in the head. We started looking for another shelter to escape from the damned airstrikes, although there is no safe place in the whole Gaza Strip. We went to Khan Yunis to another relative’s house. We were over 40 people in a very small spot in the house. We stayed there. For about a month and a half, then we began another journey of suffering in search of a new place of refuge. The Israeli Occupation Forces announced Khan Yunis as a ground invasion zone. Everyone had to leave immediately. We went to another modest house in Rafah, and we are still there until now. Recently, Israeli Occupation Forces began to indicate that the next turn will be on Rafah and people must leave, but where do we go? There is nowhere else to go…

We are reaching out to our community in a sincere plea for help. Regardless of the size, your assistance will make a significant difference in rebuilding our lives and providing the basic necessities for our family. We have left destruction in an unstable situation, including looming debts for the now-destroyed home. Your support during this incredibly challenging time will provide hope amidst despair. Your generosity will not only help secure a roof over our heads again but will also restore our faith in the kindness of humanity."