Help Aaed's family survive the war in Gaza

Hi everyone, Danielle here. I live on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm/Melbourne Australia. I'm collaborating with Aaed Shakoura to raise funds for his family's living needs in Gaza. We've been in daily contact since January, after he reached out for support. They have been through even more than what Aaed describes below. Mutual aid/collective care is a powerful antidote to systems of oppression; please give what you can as every bit helps! I'll regularly send funds to Aaed to support their living costs.

Hello kind souls

I am Aaed, a 30-year-old Palestinian from Gaza, sending a heartfelt plea for your support for the wellbeing of my family of 7 while we are struggling to survive in a displacement camp amid forced starvation, constant bombing and massacres. We need your assistance to meet our daily basic living needs of food, water, medicine and essentials.

Gaza is under relentless attack, and more than 80% of our population is displaced. With humanitarian aid blocked from entering the Gaza strip, we are trying to survive with soaring prices of food, medicine and other essentials. We often have no choice but to drink unclean water and eat expired food.

Our 7 member family is my grandmother, father, mother, brothers Ahmed, Anas and Omer, my sister Jana, and me. We have faced many issues over the past 9 months. My grandmother needs regular treatment for various illnesses, and my mother needs medication to manage her thyroid. Poor nutrition over 9 months is eroding our health and reslience; we are constantly falling ill, and recently two of my family contracted hepatitis, which is spreading throughout Gaza due to crowded displacement conditions. With our livelihoods destroyed, we cannot afford the food, clean water and medical treatment that we need.

As you can see below, our family home was bombed by the Israeli army in late 2023. It is now uninhabitable and many of our dreams are in the rubble. I lost my best friends in the 2014 war. I lost my cousins ​​and friends in this war. I don't want to lose any more of my family members.

On top of this is the daily struggle of trying to survive the horrors of war. The situation is worsening day by day. We recently had tanks and massacres close to our school. Every night, the sound of close bombing keeps us awake. We wake every morning fearful for what lays ahead. Then there is the ever-present stress of not being able to afford and/or find food and supplies.

My family members are kind and hardworking, like all people in Gaza. My sister's dream is to become a doctor, so she can help people. She also dreams of owning a cute white dog when this ends.

We have dreams just like you do, but now our lives are precarious and our future is uncertain. We need your help to get through this. What we are facing is bigger than what we can deal with alone.

Contributions through this campaign will help us to survive; to meet our daily needs of food, clean water, medicine, toiletries and other essentials. If the war ends, we will use these funds to help rebuild our home.

The duration of the war is uncertain, and the situation is changing daily. Your solidarity and support is crucial to ensuring the survival and wellbeing of my family. Please accept my sincere thanks for your kindness and support, as well as your willingness to stand with us in solidarity, where together we can make a difference.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Aaed.