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Support Family of Gaza basketball star
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"The occupation has destroyed all that was left of our homes and memories, and now we are homeless and my family is suffering. Sports were everything to me. I hope for help so that I can rebuild my house and build the remaining hopes and dreams we have." --Ibrahim Abu Rahal
*UPDATE Feb 17, 2024*
After losing contact with Ibrahim for a few days, I heard from him this morning. He was able to make it back to Gaza and has been reunited with his children. He was very torn up before he went back. He had to turn down multiple offers to go play basketball in other Middle Eastern countries because he felt the obligation to be with his children in this hard time.
I will be sending the funds to Ibrahim and his family via his sister in Jordan from now on.
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Ibrahim Abu Rahal is one of the most famous athletes in the Gaza Strip. He is captain of the Al-Bureij basketball team and a coach for both children's teams and the Palestinian national team for wheelchair basketball. Ibrahim's life has revolved around working for his community through his love of basketball. While his team was playing at an international tournament, the war destroyed his life's work. The bombing destroyed his home and the gymnasium where he played and coached. His family, including his two young children, Mohamed and Mayan, have fled from the ruins of their home and now live in refugee tents.
Ibrahim is now in Cairo, and due to the closure of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, he has not been able to return and care for his family in Gaza in this time of suffering and violence.
After fleeing their homes in Khan Yunis as the war progressed farther south, the Rahal family is now living in tents in Rafah. They are stuck in crowded conditions between the closed Egyptian border and the ever-expanding violence. Basic necessities like water and diapers are extremely expensive and the weather has become wet and cold. Ibrahim is seeking to help provide for his family so they can survive this difficult time as he waits for the border to open so he can be reunited with his family, and hopefully start to rebuild his home and his dream.
This campaign is being organized by Ibrahim's friend Bryan, in Minnesota. The funds raised will be sent to Ibrahim and his family by Western Union.
Ibrahim's son Mohamed
Ibrahim's daughter Mayan
Ibrahim coaching youth in Gaza
Ibrahim coaching the Palestinian wheelchair team
The ruins of the bombed community basketball center. Once a place of joy and many memories, now it is destroyed.
Organizer
![](https://images.gofundme.com/OXOcQNVNgthIVHGBWkXxGwPWszY=/128x128/https://www.gofundme.com/person/profiles/6135e4ab552e4f5fbc07677cf90f74c6_edited_photo_1698190791860.jpeg)
Bryan Jones
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN