Support and Evacuate Mahmoud Ashour’s Family in Gaza

This fundraiser is created by the organisers on behalf of Mahmoud Ashour - we are in direct contact, and all funds will be collected and transferred to him securely. Please read his story below in his own words and consider contributing to support him & and his family. No amount is too little.

Hello, my name is Mahmoud Ashour, I'm currently studying abroad in Turkey and I am raising funds to help my family survive the ongoing genocide in Gaza. They have been living under Israeli bombardment and blockade for the past ten months. Like most Palestinians in Gaza, my family does not have the practical and financial means to leave the Gaza Strip safely; Constantly finding themselves caught between horrifying realities. Like any human, they do not want to leave their home, however, when you’re fighting to survive a genocide, your only option is to seek refuge.

The ultimate goal is to support them but eventually evacuate them as soon as possible once the Rafah border is opened. My family has been stripped of every human right: food, water, schools, jobs and, they have no prospects for life, forcing them to evacuate from Gaza when possible so they can start over from scratch. Although we are raised to be men who rely on ourselves and do not seek outside help, the recent horrific murder of my father has left me with no other option but to ask for your help here.

Although, as a student living abroad. I have not seen my family for eight years because they live in Gaza. They have been under strict blockade even before October 7, 2023. My mother is over 60, and I have two brothers and two sisters.

My older brother is married and lives with our family. He has three children:

Taysir, who is four years old (named after our father), Zeina, who is two and a half, and Abdullah, who is a year old.

My family lived in Al-Remal, a neighborhood once known for its popular malls, shopping centers, and restaurants. Remal was known for being a place where people gathered to enjoy the best of what life could offer despite the ongoing hardships. It was a place of laughter, bustling streets, and community. Now, it lies in ruins. The beautiful shops, the vibrant markets, the cherished family homes—all have been decimated to rubble and destroyed just as the rest of Gaza has been. The place where my siblings played, where we shared meals, and where we built our memories has been obliterated. The loss is not just of physical structures but of our collective hopes and dreams.

Taysir, 4 years old

Zeina, almost 3 years old.

To whomever doesn’t know, the people of Gaza have been enduring unimaginable horrors. They have been displaced multiple times, moving from one temporary shelter to another. Initially, my family fled from our home in Al-Remal neighborhood to stay with relatives. However, the military soon reached that area in northern Gaza, forcing them to return to our heavily damaged house. The situation grew increasingly dire, and they moved again to my cousin’s house, then to a friend of my father's, and finally to an apartment of a relative who had already evacuated to southern Gaza. Despite a brief week-long ceasefire, the military reoccupied their area, and they returned to our destroyed family home once more.

In December, the Israeli military entered, raided, and wrecked our entire home, sifting through all our belongings, stealing valuables, and leaving the home unlivable. However, since it was not completely destroyed, my family was forced to clean up and continue to seek shelter in a home without walls, which, despite its condition, was still better off than many other homes in Gaza.

Our damaged home in Al-Remal neighborhood, Gaza - December 2023.

I am sharing just a fraction of the chaos they have endured. Communication is often cut off, leaving me unaware of their exact circumstances for days or even weeks. They lack internet access and have no reliable phone for eSIM, making contact extremely difficult.

Sickness and starvation have been a constant plague, from lice to hepatitis and the new polio outbreak. The north, especially, has been entirely starved with aid not reaching them. Money is needed now just to survive as the war continues and worsens.

Financial Breakdown in USD

* Rafah/Egypt crossing through agency: $5,000USD per person

(6 Adults and 3 children: $37,500USD)

* ⁠Passport fees: $100USD per person (a total of $900USD for the family members).

* Minimum living costs: $1500 per month (a total of $18,000USD for a year).

* ⁠Empty house rent: $700 per month (total for one year $8,400USD).

* Furniture with basic appliances for living in the house: $10,000USD.

Total: $75,000USD / $110,500AUD