Help My Displaced Family in Gaza (See Updates)

Hello all,

My name is Mahmoud Abusultan, and I am a Palestinian graduate student in the US. I am fundraising for my displaced family in the Gaza Strip. By consequence of the ongoing genocidal war, they have been forced to flee from Jabalia Refugee Camp in the north and relocate multiple times seeking safety and shelter. As my regular updates indicate, they have initially fled south to Rafah before having to evacuate again and move to central Gaza. The goal is to always find a safe shelter for the children (my young siblings, nephews, and nieces). But it is also to care for my two ill parents by remaining close to a functioning medical facility, especially my father who has been dealing with major health issues. My family suffers from a severe food and water insecurity, lack of access to adequate clothing and shoes, and extreme difficulty in locating and buying medications. As the case with many Palestinian families, they do not have the financial means to survive at this time when prices are skyrocketing more and more every day.

Fundraising on GoFundMe for the sake of my family is one of very few things that I can do while being so far away from them. I am aiming for $50,000 in hopes to do the following: to cover the medical expenses for my father, to secure food and clothes for my siblings, nephews, and nieces, and to retain enough funds to evacuate some of my family members, beginning with my parents and tow kid siblings, through Rafah border crossing should it reopen. Being of old age and dealing with deteriorating physical and mental health, my parents cannot be forced to endure the current circumstances, especially given that we, much like many Palestinian families, have lost several loved ones during this war on Gaza.

This is my father at the Mohammed Yousef El-Najar Hospital in Rafah after his first kidney surgery on 3/15/2024.

Here are some details that might help provide context:

During this genocidal war on Gaza, and specifically on October 31st, 2023, the Israeli occupation army carried a massive aerial attack on our neighborhood in Jabalia Refugee Camp (north of Gaza). Among the victims were my uncle, his wife, and all my cousins. They basically wiped out my uncle's family. Here are some news agencies that covered the horrific incident:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/31/middleeast/jabalya-blast-gaza-intl/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/31/jabalya-refugee-camp-deaths-strikes-israel/

(Picture of the neighborhood from the CNN article)

In another atrocious attack on Jabalia Refugee Camp, and on December 14, 2023, the Israeli occupation army targeted a group of civilians on their way home from a school shelter. I lost two of my cousins as a consequence. A month later, my grandmother died due to lack of healthcare. She was very old and in need of special care.

Recently, we have received confirmation that our neighborhood in Jablaia Refugee camp was completely destroyed during the latest Israeli ground invasion in the north of Gaza in May 2024. We lost our house and now even if those war atrocities come to an end, my family remains homeless. Here is a picture of our house taken by one of our neighbors:

Please know that I still have many family members in northern Gaza, including two married sisters and their kids, who are mentally, physically, and emotionally consumed by a full-blown famine caused by the Israeli blockage of aid into the area. My older brother is doing his best to reach them and help in any way possible. Unfortunately, communication is rarely possible.

Sending money to my family in Gaza:

I wish to share with you my process of getting the donations/funds from the GoFundMe campaign to my family in Gaza. A few things to note before I get into any specific details:

• a) I was born and raised in Gaza, Jabalia Refugee Camp to be specific. So, I have a lot of friends, neighbors, and relatives that I can call on if I need help with securing cash for my family.
• b) Before arriving in the US and while I was in Gaza, I used to work in humanitarian aid. By virtue, I have a lot of contacts around Gaza and some of whom aid in the process of finding and locating resources for my family, especially when tent material, food, and medications are needed. We pay for those things of course. But two thirds of the job is finding the stuff.

Now, in regards to how I approach sending funds to my family, there are three recurring scenarios:

1) There is a direct way of transferring the money to Gaza, usually via MoneyGram or WesternUnion. This option usually entails a high commission fee and a lower exchange rate. For example, if I send my family $1000, they might end up getting 70% of that money and the remaining 30% is a fee deducted by the currency exchange office for providing cash in this time of crisis.

2) There is No direct way or any operating currency exchange services in Gaza. In that case, I have two options:

• i. Borrow money from friends and relatives that have excess cash. Once there is a way to pay them back, I do so immediately.
• ii. A friend of a friend or a contact has cash to spare but needs their money transferred to someone outside of Gaza as a guarantee. I usually send money to people in Egypt or Kuwait before my family has access to the promised cash.

3) My current goal is to raise and retain enough funds to evacuate my parents and two young siblings once that becomes an option. This is entirely predicated on the reopening of Rafah border crossing. The process of evacuation is coordinated by a licensed and accredited Egyptian travel company and, in the case of my sick father who needs an ambulance to evacuate in, with the approval of the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The fee is estimated around $5000 per person, which means that I need at least $20,000 to evacuate the aforementioned members of my family. Once a person is registered for evacuation, the Egyptian company provides receipts that showcase the details of the transaction.

Every donation, no matter how small, will make a huge impact. My family and I would be deeply grateful for any assistance you may be able to provide during this difficult time. Please share this campaign with your friends, family, and colleagues so that we can reach our goal.