For years now across Gaza, people have been living in conditions that defy what we can imagine from the safety of our homes, while managing the safety and health of their families every day. Every night, sleeping in war-torn building rubble or tents that don’t offer much respite from the cold nights. Not knowing when your next nourishing meal will take place, or if you’ll have access to water to drink, cook, or meet even the most basic daily needs.
Yet within these conditions, there are so many different families showing incredible resilience, strength and finding small moments of relief that can make all the difference.
Here are eight stories from households we’ve recently supported. While difficult to share, they help bring us closer to the realities people are living through every day.
Iyad, Gaza City
Iyad, a plumber from Beach Camp, one of the most densely populated areas in Gaza, is doing everything he can to support his family under extreme circumstances. A plumber by profession, he struggles daily to provide for his wife and three children, one of whom requires continuous medical care due to a moderate injury.
His hardship deepened tragically when he lost his son while the Iyad was trying to secure flour for the family in the Zikim area. Overnight, he became responsible not only for his immediate family, but also for his widowed daughter-in-law and newborn grandchild. With no stable income, he was forced to sell some of his few belongings just to afford food and medicine.
He has resorted to using closet doors to patch his roof and a bathroom door to complete a wall, anything to create some form of shelter.
When tarps, blankets, jerrycans, and a kitchen set arrived, they came at a critical moment. The water containers were the most important as the family constantly struggles to access safe drinking water.
“They arrived just in time,” Iyad shared, with visible relief. “I will now be able to repair a room for my late son’s wife.”
Fatma, Khan Younis
Fatma, a 47-year-old widow in Khan Younis, cares for four children with cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities. The family lives in a fragile tent with no stable income, facing incredibly harsh conditions each day.
In response to an urgent appeal, our team supported families living in extremely difficult conditions, relying on community kitchens for daily meals. Each family received essential items, including tarps, blankets, kitchen sets, and water jerrycans, to help meet their most basic needs.
When Fatma received the items, she cried out with joy, overwhelmed with relief. Her children laughed around her, sharing in a rare moment of happiness. She told us,
“This is one of the most beautiful kits I have received. The water jerrycans are especially important because we suffer greatly from the lack of water.”
Amna, Khadija/Gaza City
Amna, a 39-year-old widow, is raising five children alone in a fragile tent in Khadija refugee camp.
After losing her husband, the family’s only source of income, she has struggled to provide even the most basic necessities such as food, medical care, and daily living expenses. Her situation is made even more difficult by injuries she sustained to her face, adding both physical and emotional strain to her daily life.
Recently, a sandstorm tore through the camp, destroying their already fragile shelter and leaving their cooking space completely exposed. Despite repeated attempts to repair it, the damage was too extensive to restore even minimal protection.
Upon identifying the family’s urgent needs, the AH&H team responded promptly by providing tarpaulins, blankets, water containers, and kitchen utensils. For Amna and her children, these items were a way to begin rebuilding stability, dignity, and a sense of protection in their uncertain world.
Mohammed, Gaza City
Mohammed and his family of five live in a cramped corridor inside a shelter that offers little protection from heat or cold. A family worn down by loss and hardship struggle to endure harsh lives, that have left them with nothing but patience and the hope that better days are coming.
With no income and rising costs, they rely almost entirely on community kitchens for food. The space they sleep in is overcrowded and unsafe, and their children suffer from skin conditions and allergies linked to their environment.
When support arrived, Mohammed’s wife stood in disbelief.
“I feel like I’m dreaming… are all these really for us?” she said, looking at the kitchen set, blankets, tarps, and water containers. For Mohammed, the items went beyond:
“Now I can expand the shelter and create a small space for the children.”
Jawdat, North Gaza
At 63, Jawdat is the head of a six-person household living in extremely fragile conditions in northern Gaza. With no income and declining health, he can no longer work to support his family.
His wife is battling multiple chronic illnesses, including diabetes, hypertension and cancer, conditions that require care and nutrition the family simply cannot afford. His daughter, recently widowed during the war, now shares the burden of caring for her own children while coping with immense loss.
The family lives in a small, overcrowded tent without furniture, bedding, or basic household items.
When essential supplies were delivered, including tarps, blankets, kitchen items, and water containers, they brought immediate relief. More than that, they helped restore a sense of dignity in a situation where so much has been lost.
Kaenat, Gaza City
Kaenat, a 39-year-old divorcee, lives with her elderly mother in a severely damaged home that no longer provides protection from the cold or rain. As night falls, the cold seeps through the cracked walls and broken structure, leaving them shivering without heating or sufficient blankets to keep warm.
With no stable source of income, the two women rely entirely on limited humanitarian assistance to survive. Their situation is further complicated by the mother’s fragile health, as she suffers from chronic illnesses, including diabetes, hypertension, and osteoporosis. She was once scheduled to travel abroad for treatment through a medical referral, but the war halted that possibility, leaving her without the care she urgently needs.
During a field visit, the AH&H team found them living in extremely harsh and unsafe conditions. In response, essential items, including blankets, tarps, water jerry cans, and kitchen sets, were provided to help them cope. These gave Kaenat a new lifeline, as she had no functioning kitchen and could not afford to replace anything.
Nabil, Khan Younis
Nabil, 63, lives alongside severe disabilities and chronic illnesses with his family of nine in a deteriorating tent. His wife suffers from elephantiasis (a severe, chronic, and deforming form of lymphedema) which has also led to a physical disability and severe bedsores.
The family placed their three children in an orphanage for a long period before the war so they could receive the care their mother was unable to provide due to her health problems, and now, they’ve returned to live in their care. We visited their tent, spoke to them and provided blankets, tarps, jerry cans, and a kitchen set to help.
Intisar, Gaza City
Intisar, who suffers from various chronic illnesses, lives in a small, cramped tent with her daughter and four grandchildren with little protection from the elements and even less room for a family of six.
Intisar’s family suffers the devastating effects of war, including a complete lack of income. There is no work to support them, and they are unable to provide for their daily needs. They sleep on the ground without mattresses or blankets, enduring cold nights that worsen both physical and emotional strain. They also lack sufficient food and spend their days in constant anxiety about hunger and deprivation, without any food supplies to sustain them.
When aid arrived, Intisar carefully examined each item, thinking through how it would help her family. Looking through the kitchen set, she called out to her daughter with a smile:
“Wow, there are plates, Abeer! Come and see!”
In a place defined by hardship, this support represents new life and hope.
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Thank you for reading these people’s stories. Your support helps ensure that families undergoing hardship in Gaza are not forgotten.
Thank you for standing with us in this great time of need.
