Help Alaa and her family leave Gaza before it's too late

Hello everyone, I'm Raya Haj-Asaad and I live in London. I have created this campaign in desperate need of help to evacuate my friend Alaa, her husband, and their children to safety and try to build the life they deserve away from war, bombing, and destruction.

The situation in Gَaza is truly catastrophic and inhumane, with no safety, food, electricity, clean water, or health services. Alaa and her family have lost all means of living there, as their home was bombed and destroyed. White phosphorus bombs were dropped on them. Her husband's sweets factory, which was their source of income since 2014, was bombed. They have nothing left because of this war. They are suffering tremendously and need your help. They are afraid of being left with their children under the bombing without anyone caring for them. Do not look at their suffering and stand idly by. They are ready to leave all their memories behind and manage to escape with their lives, and we ask for your help to make that happen.

Some information about Alaa's family:

* Alaa Nabil Ziad Sharaf (28 years old)

* Montasir Mahmoud Salama Al-Najjar (35 years old) (Her husband)

* Their children: Hanan (9 years old), Ahmad (7 years old), Lana (5 years old)

Hanan, Ahmad and Lana on October 6 before the genocide war:

Look how they have become during the war:

What sin have these innocent children committed to live a childhood under bombing, destruction, the sounds of explosions, inhaling white phosphorus, seeing the remains of martyrs and wounded in the streets, and living without health care and education!

Now Alaa wants to tell you what happened to them:

Hello mothers and fathers of children, hello everyone.

My name is Alaa, 28 years old. I got married at 17 before achieving any of my dreams, because my father separated from my mother when I was a child. My father's wife, who passed away during the war due to cancer as there was no sufficient treatment and sessions in Gaza, took care of me. My husband used to work in sweets manufacturing; he had his own factory in northern Gaza under our home, which was also destroyed.

The hardest event in our lives was when the roof of our house was bombed by a reconnaissance missile at 6 am without any warning. My husband, children, and I survived with minor injuries from the shattering glass windows and some walls, but we suffered all the mental and psychological trauma. We ran for 3 hours on foot to my in-laws' house, our hearts gnawed by fear. It was a black day for us. When the occupation forces entered northern Gaza by land, our house was completely bombed and destroyed, and our sweets factory was demolished. I lost my home and memories. My husband lost the factory he had spent his life building. After that, the entire neighborhood where my in-laws live was also warned to evacuate to southern Gaza Strip, without transportation, walking on foot. How could a child under 5 years old walk tens of kilometers on foot!! But the warning, lack of food and water, lack of health care in northern Gaza, and the white phosphorus bombs that were dropped on us forced us to be forcibly displaced and walk south to save our lives. On the way, there were corpses scattered in the streets, bombed houses, and military vehicles in front of my children's eyes. We were displaced to the Rafah area, living in a tent unfit for living without the basic necessities of life, with insects, foul odors, pollution, and many infectious diseases spreading among the displaced there. But we were forced to live there. The news started talking about evacuating Rafah, and fire belts were being thrown near us. My husband also suffered from sinus problems and could not cope with the extremely hot tent, and he also had irritable bowel syndrome. No healthy food, no clean water, no fresh air, no health care for the children.

We were forcibly displaced from our tent in Rafah to Deir al-Balah. After waiting on the street for 36 hours, we managed to find an unfurnished room with a shared bathroom with other tenants in a building in Deir al-Balah to rent for 3000 shekels per month, equivalent to $800. I sold the gold I had bought for my wedding to pay the rent for the first and second months, and now we cannot pay the rent for the third month due to lack of money and high rents, and the building owner threatens to evict us if the rent is not paid. We could not live in a tent again because of the high heat in the tents, the spread of insects, the foul odors, lack of water, and infectious diseases among the displaced in the camps. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, there are over a million cases of infectious diseases, most dangerously the epidemic hepatitis, spreading widely among the displaced. I fear for myself, my children, and my husband.

This was not the first shock in our lives. No, in May 2023, when a residential apartment in northern Gaza was suddenly bombed, that apartment was right next to our house. The windows shattered, and a wall of the house collapsed. This is a picture of us that some journalists took when we fled the bombing then:

Will our fate be like that of many people here who became shreds, or like the thousands who suffered amputations and permanent disabilities, or like my stepmother's fate to be afflicted with diseases and not find treatment, so we die!

We could not leave Gaza because of the high travel costs, and we left our bombed home with only our lives, unable to take much of our belongings with us.

We want to leave, me, my husband, and my children, alive and well from this brutal war. We want to travel and escape this genocide that claimed nearly 38,000 martyrs, including more than 15,000 children killed here for no reason.

Imagine! Imagine a world where Hanan, Ahmad, and Lana can grow up without constant fear of air raids, without psychological trauma, fear, anxiety, and depression, a world where Muntaser and Alaa can rebuild their lives and pursue dreams that once seemed impossible.

It's as if I'm in a race with the sun from sunrise to sunset. I live a life turned upside down amidst endless anxiety for my three children. My husband and I bear the burden of providing for the needs of our family. We struggle every day in search of water, food, and medicine, with the scarcity of humanitarian aid.

We need to be evacuated as soon as possible. The situation is getting worse day by day. There are threats and bombing everywhere here there is no safety. We do not want to be besieged here and die of hunger or bombardment. I shudder for my children when they hear the terrifying sound of bombing; they scream and cry day and night. Here, they have no education, no future. What is their sin to be deprived of school, education, health care? Be the hope for us, light our way with your donations, open a door to freedom for us. Every minute that passes while we are here brings us closer to death.

Time is running out; every minute that passes could mean the difference between life and death for my family. Please do not turn a blind eye to our suffering. Your contribution can make a difference, and every contribution or donation from you can save our lives.

Do not let the war rob my children of their childhood, education, health, and right to life.

Any donation, even a small one, helps us and moves us a step closer to salvation. Even if you cannot donate due to lack of money, consider sharing the campaign link with friends and family.

Collective and charitable action makes the world a better place.

All contributions will go to aid the following expenses:

* £25,000 for Permits and Crossing: expenses for evacuating Gaza through the Rafah-Egypt border will come to £5,000 per person.

* £5,000 for transaction costs: GoFundMe's transaction fees and international transfer costs will come to an estimated £5,000.

* £6,500 Estimated cost for living expenses.

(Food, shelter, clothes and any other necessities we might need)

* £25 Estimated cost every week for treating my husband

Now we are in Gaza, and we are seeking to get out to Egypt.

Thank you all. ♥️

Now, Do you want to leave Alaa, her husband, and their children suffering and being bombed?

Let us be the hope that lights up their lives and allows them to start anew. Help them with your donations and by sharing their campaign link with everyone. Be the hope and light that takes them to safety. Do not leave them alone. Donate now so they can raise the money that will enable them to travel, as the cost of travel is high, and there are living costs and passports that were burned in their bombed home.

Note: Time is of the essence, and together we can save their lives. We are very grateful to all of you who will help by donating or sharing. And thank you again for your willingness to help, no matter how small. Do not forget that the good you do will come back to you one day. We will also update regularly as much as possible regarding Alaa and her family.

Montasir, Alaa's husband, in his Sweet store which was destroyed during the war:

Alaa's family is now at war: