Escaping the genocide in Gaza

I spoke with Ihab Salah, who is raising money to get his family accross the border to Egypt

Ihab in Gaza. Bombings are a regular occurance

1.9 million people in Gaza are displaced, 90% of the enclaves population. Over 100,000 people have fled across the border into Egypt, but Egypt is not taking in refugees. Crossing into Egypt costs $US5,000 per person. Ihab Salah knows one person who has made the crossing, and is raising money on GoFundMe to be able to do so himself, with his wife who he married in 2021, and their two young children, aged 2, and 7 months. From Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis, they have been displaced twenty times already. “Displacement is very tiring and I am carrying things and there is no one to help. I have two children and we are very tired of displacement.” He tells me. 

The children are in need of medical attention. Famine conditions are spreading throughout the Gaza strip 

“I do not have the money to buy food and water because it is very expensive, and my children’s condition has begun to deteriorate because they have not eaten for a long time and their health condition is very poor.” Ihab plans to find work in Egypt, but hopes to be able to return to Gaza when the war is over. He wants to open a restaurant one day. 

Aid goods that arrive in the strip are sold in the markets, so money provided directly to people in Gaza is the best way to help. The price of fresh vegetables has risen to $20 a kilogram, and drinking water needs to be purchased too. According to Oxfam, water production in the Gaza strip had dropped by 84% by May of this year, resulting from damage to infrastructure and restrictions on fuel and spare parts entering the region, as well as shortages of electricity. 

Ihab’s family is also without electricity. The cost of a battery to operate a light is $500. The children need diapers regularly. “My child needs to buy food for her, and I don't have any toys to buy for her” He worries about his family becoming ill. Gaza faces a health crisis, with a quarter of the population ill from waterborne diseases. 

When Ihab’s daughter Alma is hungry, she sucks her thumb. Bottles are expensive

As we are talking, an Israeli air strike occurs next to Abasan Al-Kabira’s Abu Shanab Mosque. “This must be very frightening for your children,” I say to him. “Not just children, I was afraid of a huge explosion” he replies. Ihab hopes there will be a cease fire soon. He knows people who have died in bombings. “Many friends were martyred”.

He hopes his children will be able to go to school when they are old enough. 53 schools in Gaza have been destroyed completely, and others have also been bombed. 

You can donate to help Ihab and his family here.