26 water trucks. 172,600 liters of clean water. Two weeks of showing up.

Before I get into the numbers, I want to start with where we are right now.

We are almost halfway through Initiative 17, and we are still $1,800 short of our regular $4,000 weekly goal.

That $4,000 is what keeps our teams moving in both Northern and Central Gaza. It pays for the water that children drink, mothers cook with, families wash with, and people use to clean wounds and maintain whatever basic hygiene is possible while living in tents, damaged buildings and rubble.

We cannot let donation fatigue become another thing Palestinians have to survive.

Over these two weeks alone, your donations put 172,600 liters of clean drinking water into Gaza. That is what $4,000 a week can do through a small grassroots initiative with people working directly on the ground.

And now we need to do it again.

We need your help beyond Substack.

We’ve built something extraordinary here, but we cannot keep circulating this campaign among the same people and expect them to carry it forever.

Please take GFF into your community. Share us with your church, mosque or synagogue. Your employer. Your local business. A community group. A foundation. Your friends and family. Someone you know who has been asking what they can actually do for Palestinians.

There are people who want to help Palestinians survive this genocide. They just don’t know we exist yet.

Help us find them.

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🌍 We Finally Have One Home for Everything GFF

One thing we have struggled with is having all of our information scattered across different platforms. We have now created a central Gaza’s Forgotten Families Linktree, which will essentially serve as our website:

Gaza’s Forgotten Families — Official Linktree

From there, you can access our Chuffed campaign, complete Vimeo video archive, Instagram, TikTok, financial documentation, receipts, photographs, videos, past Substack reports and impact statements.

For anyone who wants to see exactly what their money becomes, it’s there.

Donate through our Chuffed campaign

Watch our GFF video archive on Vimeo

Follow GFF on Instagram

Follow GFF on TikTok

Beginning with this report, I will no longer embed dozens of individual receipts into every update. The receipts are still public. They, along with our supporting documentation, photos and videos, can be accessed through our archive. This lets us keep these reports readable without sacrificing transparency.

💧 INITIATIVE 15

August 24–30, 2026

We came up $300 short of our $4,000 goal.

And $300 isn’t an abstract fundraising number in Gaza.

It meant two water trucks didn’t go out — one in Northern Gaza and one in Central Gaza.

At Al-Duha Camp, people came from long distances when they heard Abood’s 5,000-liter truck had arrived. Some were running toward the truck with their containers. Around 160 families received water.

Then the truck emptied.

People were still waiting.

Abood told us simply that if we’d had more water, they could have helped more families.

That’s what $300 short looks like here.

Initiative 15 Impact

💧 82,800 liters of clean drinking water
🚛 13 water trucks
⛺ ~2,180 family/tent aid instances
🇵🇸 ~10,900 Palestinian aid instances

These are estimated instances of aid, not necessarily unique individuals. Some families and camps receive water repeatedly because the need itself repeats.

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Northern Gaza — Abood

Abood delivered 46,000 liters across five trucks, reaching approximately 1,220 families across nine distribution areas.

One moment encapsulated the reality in which this work happens.

Abood called the coordinator of Al-Awda Camp to say the water was coming.

The man told him he couldn’t be there.

His father had just been killed, and he was going to retrieve his body for burial.

He was crying.

But before leaving to retrieve his father’s body, he made arrangements for someone else to meet Abood so the families in his camp could still receive their water.

Grief doesn’t stop the need for water.

Death doesn’t stop it.

And neither can we.

Central Gaza — Alaa

Alaa’s team delivered another 36,800 liters through eight trucks, reaching approximately 960 family/tent aid instances.

That week began with Alaa trying to distribute water while his own family was being evacuated.

He got his child and family out, found somewhere for them to go, and then walked back to meet his team and finish the water delivery.

He reported shrapnel falling dangerously close to him and his family’s tent.

And then he went back to work.

Families at Legislative Camp later told the team they had gone five days without water. At Aman Camp, GFF trucks were among the only trucks reaching families regularly.

💧 INITIATIVE 16

August 31 – September 6, 2026

If Initiative 15 showed us what happens when there isn’t enough money, Initiative 16 showed us the conditions our teams are willing to work through when the money is there.

On September 1, Gaza City was under intense bombardment.

And our team was distributing water.

We urged Alaa to be careful and told him that if conditions became too dangerous, he could stop.

His answer was:

“The families are in dire need of water. I will distribute four truckloads. We cannot stop, even if it costs us our lives.”

Four trucks went out that day.

They reached Al-Jalaa, Aman Camp, Sheikh Radwan and Legislative Camp while the team described feeling threatened throughout the distributions because of the bombardment around them.

Then on September 5, another four trucks went out to Al-Jalaa, Al-Mu’ahibin Camp and School, the Yellow Line area and Aman Camp — communities where water is scarce and, in some cases, GFF deliveries have become something families heavily depend upon.

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Northern Gaza — Abood

Abood’s trucks kept moving too.

At Balqis School, more than 200 families were sheltering, with people also arriving from outside the school for water.

At Al-Amadi and Al-Nasr, approximately 380 families received water — but even then, some families at Al-Nasr were left without it.

At Street 10, Al-Zahra Camp and Peace Dove Camp each received water for roughly 160 families. Young men climbed onto the water truck afterward because the market was so far away and there was no transportation. They could ride there with the truck — but would have to walk all the way back carrying whatever they bought.

At Doha Camp, repeated requests brought another 5,000-liter truck to approximately 145 families.

And at Al-Nasr Neighborhood Camp, GFF arrived for the first time, reaching approximately 250 families before continuing to Sheikh Radwan.

Initiative 16 Impact

💧 89,800 liters of clean drinking water
🚛 13 water trucks
📍 Deliveries across Northern and Central Gaza, including remote communities and areas near the Yellow Line

And when we put these two weeks together:

💧 Initiatives 15 + 16

Initiative 15 Receipts

Initiative 16 Receipts

26 water trucks

172,600 liters of clean drinking water

$6,597 spent directly purchasing water

Two weeks of water reaching children, mothers, fathers, elderly people, displaced families, schools and camps that are repeatedly telling our teams the same thing:

We still need water.

Financial Transparency

We Have To Keep Going

There is something difficult about writing these updates week after week because eventually the words begin repeating themselves.

The children still come with the jugs.

Families still wait for the truck.

The water still runs out.

And tomorrow they still need to drink.

But Initiative 17 is already underway, and we’re still $1,800 short of $4,000.

So I’m asking you to do two things:

Donate if you can. And if you can’t — help us find someone who can.

Take our Linktree. Send it to somebody outside Substack. Show them the videos. Show them the receipts. Show them sixteen completed initiatives. Show them what a few hundred dollars actually becomes on the ground.

Because we’ve already built the infrastructure. We have teams in Gaza. We have the trucks. We know the communities. We document the work.

What determines how much water goes out now is how much money comes in.

Please help us close that $1,800 gap.

As long as Palestinians are standing there with empty containers, GFF will keep trying to fill them.

Water is life. Help us keep it moving.

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In the early days of the war, specifically when we were forced to flee from western Jabalia to the east, the bombing was beyond anything the human mind could comprehend.

There was no clear front line, and nowhere that could truly be called safe.

Homes were being bombed on top of the people living inside them.

We would sit inside houses knowing that, at any moment, the walls around us could collapse and become rubble over our heads. We would hear the explosions, feel the ground shake, and then look at each other in silence.

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The question was always:

Would this be the next house?

In the area where we had fled, there were many homes that had been bombed on top of their occupants. Some were reduced to piles of concrete and rubble, while family members remained trapped underneath, and we had no way of knowing whether they were alive or dead.

Then something happened that I will never forget.

There was a house that had just been bombed.

Civil defense teams tried to reach the people inside and remove the rubble, but they couldn’t. They didn’t have the necessary equipment, and the bombing was intense and continuous. Even reaching the site was dangerous.

But beneath that rubble, someone was still alive.

He was a friend of my cousin.

I had never known him before.

I had never even seen him.

But I could hear him.

He was still alive.

He was talking to us from beneath tons of rubble.

He was crying.

And he was asking for water.

Imagine being trapped beneath a house that has collapsed on top of you, unable to move your body or escape, while knowing that the people standing above you cannot save you.

All they can do is hear you.

Hear your fear.

And try to keep you alive.

My cousin and I went looking for an IV tube so we could get water to him.

We didn’t have what was needed to rescue him.

We had no equipment to lift the rubble.

We had no heavy machinery.

We had nothing but our hands, a small tube, and a desperate determination not to leave a human being to die alone.

We would pass the tube through small openings in the rubble, trying to lower it until it reached his mouth.

Then we would give him water.

It wasn’t rescue in the way we understand rescue.

It was simply a tiny attempt to resist death.

We knew we were helpless.

And he knew we were helpless.

Yet we kept coming back to him.

Day after day.

He was trapped beneath the rubble while his entire family had been killed around him.

He could smell them.

He knew they were beside him.

He was living among the dead, trapped in a place he could not escape.

Two days.

Two entire days beneath the rubble.

Two days of fear, thirst, pain, and loneliness.

Two days waiting for someone to come and save him.

Two days hearing our voices, talking to us, and asking for water.

I wished I could have done more.

I wished I could have lifted the rubble with my bare hands.

I wished I could have pulled him out.

I wished I could have told him, “You’re going to be okay. It’s all over.”

But I couldn’t.

We simply didn’t have the ability to do it.

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And on the third day, we went back to him.

But this time…

We didn’t hear his voice.

He didn’t answer us.

He was gone.

He had been killed. 💔

I don’t know how to describe what I felt in that moment.

I didn’t know him.

I had never even seen him.

But I cried.

I cried bitterly.

I cried because I knew he had been alive.

I had heard his voice.

I had spoken to him.

I had given him water.

And then he was gone.

What hurts me the most, even today, is the feeling that I couldn’t help him.

All we had was water.

All we could do was pass the tube through openings in the roof until it reached his head, allowing him to drink.

We tried to tell him, in whatever way we could:

“We’re here… you’re not alone.”

But the truth was that we were helpless.

And that moment still lives inside me.

Sometimes I wonder:

How many people experienced the same thing?

How many people remained beneath the rubble calling for help?

How many were still alive, waiting for someone to hear them?

And how many could have been saved if the necessary equipment had been available?

I don’t have the answers.

But I know one thing.

That man did not die from my memory.

Even though I never knew his name and never saw him, his voice stayed with me.

The voice of a man who wanted something so simple:

Water.

And in war, even the simplest things can become a dream.

Water.

Safety.

A way out from beneath the rubble.

To hear someone say to you, “Don’t be afraid.”

But for that man, rescue never came.

Only the water reached him.

Then death came.

What the Rubble Cannot Bury

There are things that cannot be buried beneath rubble.

Voices cannot be buried.

Memories cannot be buried.

And the questions that remain inside the minds of those who lived through these moments cannot be buried either.

I am not telling this story because I have enough words to describe it.

In truth, I don’t believe words can ever fully describe what we saw.

I am writing because there are people who lived and died without the world ever knowing their stories.

And sometimes, the only thing we can do for those we lost is to tell their stories.

To say that they were here.

To say that they were alive.

To say that they asked for water.

And to say that someone heard them.

I could hear him beneath the rubble.

And that is something I will never forget. 💔

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Another week of Gaza’s Forgotten Families is complete. Initiative #14 continued our emergency water distributions across Central and Northern Gaza, continuing to serve camps and communities where clean drinking water remains scarce, irregular, or completely unavailable without outside support.

This week also showed exactly why repeat distributions matter because one truck of water does not solve a camp’s water crisis.

Families drink it, cook with it, wash with it, and then they need water again.

It is a critical ongoing need to have access to clean, safe water.

Financial report

New donations collected: $4,246.00

Carried forward from Initiative #13: $209.00

Total available: $4,455.00

Chuffed/Stripe fees: $144.36

Kraken fees: $40.00

Wire fees: $60.00

Currency exchange: $160.00

Gaza team labor/commission: $384.00

Direct aid/water: $3,572.15

Carried forward to Initiative #15: $94.49

Total accounted for: $4,455.00

Central Gaza — Alaa and Team

Throughout the week, Alaa and the Central Gaza team continued delivering water to Al-Israa, Al-Muhibeen School, Camp 2, Sheikh Radwan, Al-Bustan, Al-Muhibeen, Al-Aman and Al-Dahyan.

Several of these are communities we have served before.

Ard Al-Israa in particular continues to depend heavily on our deliveries because water trucks do not reach the camp regularly. On August 20, Alaa returned there again after serving Al-Muhibeen.

On August 18, the team completed four separate water deliveries in a single day, reaching Al-Muhibeen School and Camp 2, Sheikh Radwan, Al-Bustan and Ard Al-Israa.

But getting the water there wasn't simple.

While Water Truck #51 was on its way to Ard Al-Israa, it suddenly broke down. A mechanic was called and arrived about half an hour later. Luckily the truck was repaired, and instead of abandoning the delivery, the team continued to the camp and got the water to the families waiting for it.

Alaa summed up what these trucks represent:

“Every water truck carries more than just water; it carries hope, compassion, and a message to families that they are not alone, that there are those who remember them and stand by them.”

The difficulties continued on August 21 when the team suffered another vehicle breakdown while delivering to Aman Camp and Al-Dahyan School and Camp.

This time the vehicle couldn’t be repaired so the team and some helpers physically pushed the full water truck to the camp where families had been waiting a long time in the baking sun for water.

Both deliveries were completed.

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# Northern Gaza — Abood

Abood's distributions this week show both the enormous scale of the need and why GFF continues returning to communities we've already served.

On August 18, 12,000 liters went to Al-Nasr Street and Kazem Street, reaching approximately 360 family/tent service instances.

Kazem is not new to us. Abood explained:

“This is not the first time this area has benefited from the Gaza’s Forgotten Families initiatives. The person responsible for the area contacts me regularly, but I try to schedule the distributions so that they can reach all the areas in need of water.”

Two days later, he returned to the Kazem area.

Why? Simply because they urgently needed water again.

More than 230 families benefited there that day, followed by another 80 families at Al-Yaqeen Camp.

Abood said Kazem is the area from which he receives the most calls because **they have not received support from another organization or source.

Going Where the Gaps Are

On August 21, Abood took another 12,000-liter truck to Hamamat Al-Salam and Al-Zahraa, two extremely remote camps surrounded by an area devastated by the Israeli occupation.

The truck was positioned directly between the two camps.

There are appapproximate160 families in each camp — about 1,280 people altogether.

The following day, another 4,500 liters went to the Carrefour area, where approximately 120 families received water.

But Abood made the problem painfully clear:

“If we had more water, many more families could have benefited.”

That sentence is essentially the story of our work right now.

There is always more people to serve than water to distribute.

Our Impact Through Initiative #14

Our new cumulative impact statement is above, and I want to clarify exactly what these numbers mean.

Across Initiatives 1–14, Gaza’s Forgotten Families has now distributed approximately 605,900 liters of clean water through 94 water trucks.

Our records represent 15,633 family/tent service instances, corresponding to an estimated 78,165 Palestinian beneficiary instances, using an average of five people per family or tent.

These are deliberately described as service and beneficiary instances rather than unique people.

Some families have received water from us more than once. Some camps appear repeatedly in our records. It reflects the reality of emergency water aid which is not a one off delivery. Water is needed every day and a few containers doesn’t go far with a family of thirsty people who might also need to cook food or use water for ablutions.

People need to drink water every day.

So we return as often as we can.

Our records currently represent 130 camp/area service visits**, including repeat visits to communities with continuing need.

That distinction matters to us because transparency matters to us.

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See the Work for Yourself

We don't want donors to have to take our word for what happens after they donate.

We maintain a video archive documenting GFF initiatives and distributions, so you can see the trucks, the camps, the families and the work being carried out on the ground on a day by day basis. Each delivery video is accompanied by a sign with the date and coordinators name.

Gaza’s Forgotten Families Video Archive on Vimeo

You can also follow the teams and our ongoing work on:

Gaza’s Forgotten Families on Instagram

Gaza’s Forgotten Families on TikTok

# Initiative #15 Begins

Initiative #14 closes with $94.49 already carried forward toward Initiative #15.

The water crisis has not ended because another initiative has ended.

The phone calls continue. The camps we served this week will become thirsty again. And beyond them are other families waiting for a truck that may never come unless someone pays to send it.

This is why we keep going.

$25 becomes water. $100 becomes water. $200 becomes a truck. $4,000 allows our teams to operate across Northern and Central Gaza for approximately another week.

We cannot give every family in Gaza everything they need. But every time one of these trucks pulls into a camp, hundreds of people who were waiting for water can drink.

Help us fund Initiative #15. Help us to keep sending the water trucks in.

Water is life. And in Gaza, right now, delivering it is an act of survival.

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The water emergency in Gaza continues.

This week, our teams once again moved clean drinking water into camps and neighborhoods across Central and Northern Gaza, including communities near the Yellow Line and areas where families tell us they have become dependent upon these deliveries because other water trucks simply are not reaching them.

Our weekly goal has been approximately $4,000 to fund both Central and Northern Gaza. As the need grows, we would like to increase that amount when possible so our teams can reach more camps.

For Initiative #13, you gave us the resources to keep going.

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Financial Transparency

Funds Available

• Collected: $4,246

• Carried forward from Initiatives #11–12: $201

• Total available: $4,447

Expenses

• Chuffed/Stripe fees: $144.36

• Kraken fee (1%): $40

• International wire fees: $60

• Currency exchange: $160

• Gaza team labor commission: $384

• Posters and team vests: $175

• Direct aid: $3,372

• Remaining for Initiative #14: approximately $111

The overwhelming majority of these funds once again went directly into Gaza, either purchasing humanitarian aid or compensating the Palestinians doing the work of getting it to families.

Central Gaza

Led by Alaa

This week marked an extraordinary milestone for Alaa and our Central Gaza team:

Water Initiative #40.

Forty distributions since this work began.

But as Alaa reminded us:

“Behind every number are real families, children, mothers, and fathers who are simply asking for something that should never be a luxury: water.”

The team continued delivering to places including Sheikh Radwan, Ard Al-Israa, Aman Camp, Al-Tashri’i, the Yellow Line area and Nur Shams Camp.

Several of these communities have become heavily dependent upon GFF water deliveries.

At Ard Al-Israa, Alaa reported something particularly disturbing:

No other water trucks were reaching the camp except those being provided through our team.

And when the trucks don’t come, the phones start ringing.

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“Since This Morning, I’ve Received Nearly 20 Calls”

Alaa described what happens on the other side of our financial reports:

“Since this morning, I’ve received nearly 20 calls from families in the two camps, pleading with us to send them water.”

Aman and Ard Al-Israa have become two of the communities that repeatedly call the team when their water runs out.

Families are living inside tents in extreme August heat.

Water is needed for drinking, cooking, washing, bathing and caring for their children.

Alaa wrote:

“Imagine being in a tent in this heat with children, not even having a gallon of water to drink or wash your child’s face.”

And then there is the waiting.

Families know a truck might come.

They gather their containers.

They wait.

And sometimes there simply isn’t enough money to send one.

“I feel utterly helpless when I receive dozens of pleas and I can’t reach everyone when they need water.”

This is why we keep fundraising.

Water Has Become a Daily Battle

After another day of distribution, Alaa tried to explain what witnessing this repeatedly does to a person:

“I see families waiting for hours for a little water. I see children carrying heavy containers.”

He said obtaining the most basic right to life has become a daily battle.

These aren’t simply trucks to the people waiting for them.

They are another chance to drink.

Another chance to cook.

Another chance to wash a child’s face.

Another day of survival.

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Central Gaza Distribution

Central Gaza Receipts

Northern Gaza

Led by Abood

In Northern Gaza, Abood continued using the larger 12,000-liter trucks whenever possible, allowing hundreds of families to receive water from a single delivery.

On August 12, he left home at 5:30 in the morning.

There was a reason.

By reaching families early, fathers and older brothers could collect water before leaving to find work or whatever income they could to feed their families.

That morning, approximately 70 families at Tal Al-Hawa received water before the truck continued to Balqis School, where more than 200 families were sheltering.

And even at that hour, people came from outside the school when they learned water had arrived.

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One Bottle. Then Back for the Other.

I asked Abood about something many of us watching the videos have noticed.

A child arrived with two large bottles.

I asked:

“Does he carry them both back by himself?”

Abood answered:

“Yes. He carries one bottle, then comes back to carry the second one, stopping every five meters.”

That image says more about Gaza’s water crisis than almost any statistic can.

A child.

A container almost too heavy to carry.

Five meters.

Stop.

Five more meters.

Stop.

Then walk all the way back and do it again.

Because his family needs water.

Friday: When the Trucks Don’t Come

On August 14, Abood took a 12,000-liter truck first to UNESCO Camp.

The families were waiting desperately.

He distributed approximately 7,000 liters, leaving another 5,000 liters in the truck.

Then they drove along the sea road.

This second distribution wasn’t planned.

And then people saw the truck.

Abood said people began running toward it from the direction of the sea.

Thousands of tents line the area.

Families kept coming.

And one fact made the situation particularly painful: it was Friday.

Abood explained that many larger organizations were not distributing that day.

“I saw people who were thirsty.”

Approximately 150 families received water from what remained in the truck.

Then it ran dry.

And Abood watched the people who had arrived too late turn around and walk back to their tents without water.

“I did not expect this to happen. I did not realize that the number of people in need would be so large.”

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The Heat

The following day, another 12,000 liters went to families around Kazem Street and Al-Ain Camp.

Approximately 300 families received water.

The team waited about 45 minutes because people were walking from farther away to reach the truck.

Abood’s description of the conditions was simple:

“The weather was very, very hot today.”

On August 16, the remaining budget purchased approximately 4,800 liters.

The team brought it to Al-Thawra Street, which had experienced a severe water shortage for two days.

More than 140 families benefited.

And thankfully, this time:

Everyone waiting in line received water.

Northern Gaza Distribution

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Northern Gaza Receipts

Initiative #13: What Your Money Means

Behind every financial line above are people.

Fathers collecting water before leaving for work.

Families making desperate phone calls asking whether a truck is coming.

Children hauling containers, stopping every few meters because they are too heavy.

People running toward a tanker because they don’t know when another one will come.

And people arriving too late and walking back to their tents empty-handed.

This is why we continue.

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The Crisis Is Becoming More Desperate

Our weekly budget has been approximately $4,000, divided between Northern and Central Gaza.

We want to increase that when funding allows.

Because our teams are telling us plainly:

$4,000 is no longer enough to reach everyone calling them.

The desperation surrounding water has consequences far beyond thirst.

This past week, we received the devastating report of a family dispute over water that left three people dead.

That horror does not exist in a vacuum.

This is what extreme oppression, hunger, thirst, trauma and desperation can do to human beings.

The genocide has consequences that reach into every corner of Palestinian life.

It isn’t only the bombs.

It is the destroyed infrastructure.

It is unbearable heat inside tents.

It is children hauling water.

It is families pleading over the phone.

It is people fighting over resources required to stay alive.

It is a society being forced into impossible circumstances by deprivation.

And then Palestinians are left to live with the consequences.

We Need to Increase What We Can Do

Initiative #13 leaves approximately $111 to roll directly into Initiative #14.

But $111 doesn’t send enough water.

So we need your help again.

If we can raise more than our normal $4,000 weekly goal, we can send more trucks. We can reach more camps. We can answer more of those phone calls.

We cannot promise that every family will have enough.

We cannot promise that a truck will reach everyone before the water runs out.

But every time you donate, you give Alaa and Abood one more opportunity to say:

Yes. We can come.

One more truck.

One more camp.

One more child who doesn’t have to go home with an empty container.

Water is life.

And Gaza’s Forgotten Families will continue going where the gaps are.

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Have you ever seen a broken man? I mean, truly broken.

Yet somehow he’s still managing to put one foot in front of the other, driven forward by desperate need. Step by step. Each one slower than the last. His feet know the destination so well he doesn’t even have to think about it — or think about anything else. Which is probably just as well.

This is Ahmed Atiya Saleh Al‑Fayoumi, and he is that man walking on autopilot.

He is that man who walks every day. Not carefree or happy walks. Not exercise walks. Not taking‑in‑the‑joys‑of‑nature walks.

He walks for water. His arms don’t swing as he walks. They can’t. They’re weighed down with heavy containers of water. His arms hang as heavy as his mind.

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Everything about him looks broken. He has nothing left but daily suffering and an instinctive drive to provide for his family. And so this propels him forward.

He has no money. He has no phone. He has no campaign.

What he does have is a little daughter who underwent surgery at a year and a half for malnutrition. What he does have is a pregnant wife. What he does have is the weight of the world on his shoulders and the weight of daily water containers on his arms as he walks maybe a kilometre every day.

Well — except for the days Gaza’s Forgotten Families can afford to send a water truck to his neighbourhood. On those days, he gets a bit of a break.

Listen to what he says about his daily grind to find water. Look at where he lives. Look at the faces of his family. There is almost no life left in their eyes. They can’t take much more of this.

This man had two houses and a large piece of land. All of that has been taken from him. Now all he has left are pieces of torn material over his family’s heads and his precious water containers.

Your donations help us help him and others like him.

https://chuffed.org/project/183781-gaza-forgotten-families-fund

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We have had two occasions in recent months to write an appeal for . Two occasions in almost three years of a genocide.

On those occasions Ahmad didn’t reach out to us. We knew that it was very unlikely that he would. Ahmad tends to struggle on privately.

But we just KNEW he had to be struggling. We knew the very small payments he was getting from Gaza Great Minds Foundation and when you do the math and realise his responsibilities to his family's welfare, the math didn’t add up. Both those times we broached the subject with him only to find that he was actually in extremely difficult financial circumstances and on the verge of losing the apartment he was renting with his family.

Ahmad on Sky News

But before anything else is said, it matters that people understand who Ahmad is. Ahmad is the founder of in— a project built from nothing but determination, love, and the belief that Gaza’s children deserve a future rooted in knowledge. This foundation has become one of the most extraordinary educational lifelines in Gaza. It has produced scholar after scholar. It has kept classrooms alive when everything around them was collapsing. It has fiercely protected its young students against the worst atrocities of the occupation. It has given hope to children and parents when no hope existed. And it has ensured that when this genocide ends, these young people will be able to step into their future seamlessly and take their rightful place in further education facilities.

That’s all Ahmad’s doing. His blood, sweat, and tears built this. His father — killed in this genocide — taught him that education was the highest form of resistance, and Ahmad has lived that truth every single day.

And for a community like ours — a Substack community built on knowledge, learning, information, and the belief that education matters — supporting someone like Ahmad is not charity. It’s reciprocity. It’s giving back to the people who give knowledge. It’s standing with the educators who have held the line so that children can keep learning even in the darkest conditions on earth. If we value knowledge, if we value scholarship, if we value the act of teaching, then we value Ahmad.

And now Ahmad needs us. How do we know that?

For the first time Ahmad reached out because his situation has become intolerable and he simply cannot manage without peoples help — so he turned to those he knew would understand. Let me put his own words here:

“Salam Alaykom my dear friends, I hope this message finds you well.

For two years, I've given everything I have to other people's children, building schools, keeping classrooms running, making sure Gaza's students still had someone showing up for them. I would do it all again. But I've never asked for anything for my own family until now, and that hasn't been easy to sit with.

We've been displaced more than once. We've lost people. And right now, the work I do for others doesn't cover what my own wife and children need, a roof, mainly, something steady in the middle of everything that isn't.

I'm not asking out of despair. I'm asking because after two years of carrying this for my community, I've learned that asking for help isn't a failure, it's what makes the rest of it possible. This is for my family”.

What this young man says is 100% accurate. He has given everything to other people’s children in Gaza. He has poured himself into building an educational lifeline that has held thousands of kids steady through the worst years of their lives. He has kept learning alive when nothing else around them was standing. He has carried an entire generation on his back, making sure they had books, teachers, classrooms, and a future to step into when their world finally stops burning. That’s all Ahmad’s doing. He has given everything he has to this project. Now we need to give back.

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For every one of you who has admired and what they have achieved, remember, this is all down to one man and his unending love for the children of Gaza and for the legacy of his father who was killed in this genocide and who valued education above all else. That’s what he taught Ahmad and that’s who Ahmad is.

And now, here is how you can help Ahmad:

1. Directly donate to his link. This is the most urgent and impactful way to support him and his family right now.

Donate to Ahmad

2. Subscribe to him — either as a free or paid subscriber. This helps him build stability and gives him a platform to continue the educational work he’s devoted his life to.

Subscribe to Ahmad

3. Share his story. Share this appeal, share his work, share his name. Lift him up. Let him know he is not carrying this alone.

Share

We have to look after the protectors. Without them everything falls.

Please show Ahmad that you see him, you appreciate him and you value what he is doing for the children of Gaza and that you understand he cannot continue to do this alone.

We are a fully reader - and subscriber - supported publication. We feature citizen journalists unapologetically. Help us grow and fuel honest, citizen journalism by becoming a paid member.

Subscribe now

We have had two occasions in recent months to write an appeal for . Two occasions in almost three years of a genocide.

On those occasions Ahmad didn’t reach out to us. We knew that it was very unlikely that he would. Ahmad tends to struggle on privately.

But we just KNEW he had to be struggling. We knew the very small payments he was getting from and when you do the math and realise his responsibilities to his family's welfare, the math didn’t add up. Both those times we broached the subject with him only to find that he was actually in extremely difficult financial circumstances and on the verge of losing the apartment he was renting with his family.

But before anything else is said, it matters that people understand who Ahmad is. Ahmad is the founder of — a project built from nothing but determination, love, and the belief that Gaza’s children deserve a future rooted in knowledge. This foundation has become one of the most extraordinary educational lifelines in Gaza. It has produced scholar after scholar. It has kept classrooms alive when everything around them was collapsing. It has fiercely protected its young students against the worst atrocities of the occupation. It has given hope to children and parents when no hope existed. And it has ensured that when this genocide ends, these young people will be able to step into their future seamlessly and take their rightful place in further education facilities.

That’s all Ahmad’s doing. His blood, sweat, and tears built this. His father — killed in this genocide — taught him that education was the highest form of resistance, and Ahmad has lived that truth every single day.

And for a community like ours — a Substack community built on knowledge, learning, information, and the belief that education matters — supporting someone like Ahmad is not charity. It’s reciprocity. It’s giving back to the people who give knowledge. It’s standing with the educators who have held the line so that children can keep learning even in the darkest conditions on earth. If we value knowledge, if we value scholarship, if we value the act of teaching, then we value Ahmad.

And now Ahmad needs us. How do we know that?

For the first time Ahmad reached out because his situation has become intolerable and he simply cannot manage without peoples help — so he turned to those he knew would understand. Let me put his own words here:

“Salam Alaykom my dear friends, I hope this message finds you well.

For two years, I've given everything I have to other people's children, building schools, keeping classrooms running, making sure Gaza's students still had someone showing up for them. I would do it all again. But I've never asked for anything for my own family until now, and that hasn't been easy to sit with.

We've been displaced more than once. We've lost people. And right now, the work I do for others doesn't cover what my own wife and children need, a roof, mainly, something steady in the middle of everything that isn't.

I'm not asking out of despair. I'm asking because after two years of carrying this for my community, I've learned that asking for help isn't a failure, it's what makes the rest of it possible. This is for my family”.

What this young man says is 100% accurate. He has given everything to other people’s children in Gaza. He has poured himself into building an educational lifeline that has held thousands of kids steady through the worst years of their lives. He has kept learning alive when nothing else around them was standing. He has carried an entire generation on his back, making sure they had books, teachers, classrooms, and a future to step into when their world finally stops burning. That’s all Ahmad’s doing. He has given everything he has to this project. Now we need to give back.

For every one of you who has admired and what they have achieved, remember, this is all down to one man and his unending love for the children of Gaza and for the legacy of his father who was killed in this genocide and who valued education above all else. That’s what he taught Ahmad and that’s who Ahmad is.

And now, here is how you can help Ahmad:

1. Directly donate to his link. This is the most urgent and impactful way to support him and his family right now.

Donate to Ahmad

2. Subscribe to him — either as a free or paid subscriber. This helps him build stability and gives him a platform to continue the educational work he’s devoted his life to.

Subscribe to Ahmad

3. Share his story. Share this appeal, share his work, share his name. Lift him up. Let him know he is not carrying this alone.

Share

We have to look after the protectors. Without them everything falls.

Please show Ahmad that you see him, you appreciate him and you value what he is doing for the children of Gaza and that you understand he cannot continue to do this alone.

We are a fully reader - and subscriber - supported publication. We feature citizen journalists unapologetically. Help us grow and fuel honest, citizen journalism by becoming a paid member.

Subscribe now

The water crisis in Gaza continues to worsen, especially in remote camps and neighborhoods close to the Yellow Line, where damaged roads and security risks make regular aid deliveries difficult.

For Initiatives #11 and #12, Gaza’s Forgotten Families continued focusing almost entirely on life-sustaining clean drinking water.

Together, our teams in Central and Northern Gaza reached 4,350 families/tents across 33 camps, providing water to an estimated 21,750 Palestinians.

Central Gaza

Led by Alaa

Alaa received $4,000 for this phase.

Financial Summary

• Funds sent: $4,000

• Currency conversion (5%): $200

• Team labor commission (10%): $380

• Printing/documentation: $55

• Water trucks: 16 × 4,600-liter trucks at $200 each = $3,200

• Remaining balance: $164, to roll into Initiative #13

Central Gaza receipts

Central Gaza Impact

💧 16 water trucks

🏕️ 1,920 families/tents reached

📍 16 camp distributions

Camps Served

• Al-Rafidain, Al-Siraj, Al-Aman (Yellow Line), Legislative Camp , Al-Shishan, Sheikh Radwan, Al-Samidin, Al-Aman, Al-Israa, Sheikh Radwan, Al-Muhibeen, Al-Israa, Al-Shanti, Sheikh Radwan, Aman, and School Camp

One of the most difficult realities Alaa documented came from Al-Shishan Camp, where families told the team they had gone approximately 15 days without a water truck.

That is the scale of the shortage our teams are encountering.

Some of these camps are close to the Yellow Line and extremely difficult to reach. The roads are heavily damaged, access is dangerous, and larger vehicles can draw unwanted attention.

But the need remains the same.

Families are waiting for water.

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Northern Gaza

Led by Abood

Abood also received $4,000.

Financial Summary

• Funds sent: $4,000

• Currency conversion (3%): $120

• Team labor commission (10%): $293

• Seven 12,000-liter trucks: $2,800

• Two 4,600-liter trucks: $179 + $159

• Poster printing: $10

• Remaining balance: $73, to roll into Initiative #13

DONATE TO GAZA'S FORGOTTEN FAMILIES

Northern Gaza Receipts:

Northern Gaza Impact

💧 9 water trucks

🏕️ 2,430 families/tents reached

📍 17 camp distributions

Camps Served

• Al-Tuffah • Al-Awda • Hassouna Camp • Al-Ain • Al-Taqa •Al-Shifa • Al-Salam • Al-Zahraa • Shuja’iyya • Jenin • Al-Amali • Al-Ain • Al-Kawthar • Dahdouh Street • Doha • Adam • Al-Abbas • Al-Zaytoun • Salah Al-Din

DONATE TO GAZA'S FORGOTTEN FAMILIES

What Abood Saw

At Al-Tuffah, Abood originally planned to serve two areas.

That changed as families kept arriving.

“I couldn’t bring myself to close the taps while families were still standing there waiting desperately for water.”

So the entire 12,000-liter truck stayed in one neighborhood.

Families filled their containers, returned home, and then came back to refill them so they could store enough water for the days ahead.

Abood estimated 250–350 families benefited from that single distribution.

At Al-Zahraa School, less than 80 meters from the Yellow Line, 215 families were sheltering inside the school and in tents along its walls.

Abood described the situation there as catastrophic.

Families live with the sound of gunfire through the night while trying to secure something as basic as drinking water.

Afterwards, the team continued to Shuja’iyya, where another 75 families received water.

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At Dahdouh Street, there had been no planned distribution.

The truck driver simply told Abood that families there were desperate for water.

When they arrived, the street initially appeared empty.

Then the driver honked the horn.

“It was as if people emerged from beneath the rubble.”

Within minutes, families came running with containers.

More than 150 families received water.

Abood described displaced people living in partially intact rooms beneath heavy debris, in what had once been one of Gaza’s busiest streets.

One moment stayed with him.

A very young girl insisted on carrying a heavy water container herself, even though her mother told her not to. Her young brother also wanted to carry one.

Even as children, they already understood that bringing water home had become part of their responsibility.

DONATE TO GAZA'S FORGOTTEN FAMILIES

On Friday, Abood distributed 4,500 liters to Doha Camp because many other organizations were not distributing water that day.

Families came from far away hoping the truck would reach them.

As Abood put it:

“I cannot understand how these families can be left without access to drinking water for an entire day.”

At Adam Camp and Al-Abbas, another 12,000 liters were distributed.

At the mosque in Al-Abbas, there was no water at all.

Children began filling the mosque’s containers so that anyone entering would have something to drink.

New: GFF Video Archive

Transparency shouldn't require you to take our word for anything.

Over the past months, our teams have accumulated extensive field documentation: water trucks being filled, roads being traveled, camps being entered, distributions taking place, and families speaking directly from Gaza.

We are now building a permanent Gaza's Forgotten Families video archive on Vimeo where supporters can watch the initiatives for themselves:

https://vimeo.com/user259835683⁠Gaza’s Forgotten Families Video Archive⁠

The archive will continue to grow as we organize and upload documentation from each initiative.

Our donors deserve to see what their money does.

And the families we serve deserve more than statistics. They deserve to be seen.

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Combined Impact

Initiatives #11–12

Together, Alaa and Abood reached:

💧 25 water trucks

🏕️ 4,350 families/tents

❤️ Approximately 21,750 Palestinians

📍 33 camp distributions

Many of these communities are in remote, heavily damaged, or dangerous areas where access is difficult and regular water deliveries are unreliable.

Some families told us they had gone 15 days without a water truck.

Others came running from beneath rubble when they heard a horn.

Children carried containers nearly as heavy as they were.

Families waited in extreme heat simply hoping there would be enough water left when their turn came.

This is what these numbers represent.

Not statistics.

People surviving one more day.

Thank you for continuing to stand with Gaza’s Forgotten Families.

Every truck matters.

Every liter matters.

Every family reached matters.

We’re still in need of your generous donations to keep our water distribution efforts in Gaza going strong.

Donate: https://chuffed.org/project/183781-gaza-forgotten-families-fund

DONATE TO GAZA'S FORGOTTEN FAMILIES

We are a fully reader - and subscriber - supported publication. We feature citizen journalists unapologetically. Help us grow and fuel honest, citizen journalism by becoming a paid member.

Subscribe now

Al Jazeera’s report on families forced to rely on unsafe sources due to the damaged water infrastructure in Gaza.

Water, water, water. Everywhere I turn lately, all I can see and hear are people talking about water. There’s not enough. People are parched. People are dehydrated. People are dying because of lack of water.

The word “water” is literally on everyone’s lips, ironically except on the lips of Palestinians.

Why is that, do you think? Is it because Palestinian lives have always been considered exceptions to everyone else’s? Does being Palestinian somehow exempt you from the need for daily water? Are the “resilient” Palestinian people somehow possessed with magical powers and strength that allow them to survive with the bare minimum of access to water?

Well, I hate to burst your bubble. But Palestinians are human — just like me and you. They generally come with two kidneys, two lungs, a liver, a heart, and all the other major organs you and I have.

They come with skin that gets burnt. Skin that gets bitten by insects. Skin that gets dry and gets rashes. Skin that needs water to hydrate and soothe, especially in these soaring temperature months of summer.

Let me take you on a little journey.

How did your day start today? What’s the first thing you did when you woke up?

Did you go to the toilet?

Did you brush your teeth?

Did you wash your face and hands?

Did you take a shower?

Did you fill the kettle and make yourself a cup of tea or coffee?

Maybe you decided to boil an egg or two for breakfast?

Maybe that little pot of herbs on your windowsill in the kitchen needed a bit of watering?

Maybe you decided to do a laundry wash today?

Maybe you were lazy and didn’t wash up the dishes last night, so you put on the dishwasher or washed them in the sink?

Whatever you did, I want you to walk yourself back through every action and see how many involved water.

Every single one of those normal, small actions demands water, and most of us just really take it for granted. But imagine if it was all suddenly taken away.

Your toilet is now backed up with waste that has nowhere to go.

Your mouth is dry and smells foul because you can’t brush your teeth.

You can’t wash your face or hands, and you’ve just used the toilet.

Shower? What shower?

Kettle? What kettle? Even if you had enough water to fill a kettle, you have no way of heating it anyway.

Boil an egg? You haven’t been able to afford eggs for months, so that’s off your list anyway.

The little herb pot you used to have is no longer there because you don’t have a windowsill in your fabric shelter.

Laundry wash? The only other set of clothes you have will just have to air out in the sun. You can’t waste water on washing clothes.

And don’t get me started on the dishes. You didn’t eat last night because there was no food, and therefore there are no dishes to wash anyway. First win of the day...

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Imagine that for a single moment. Imagine how you would cope. Then imagine that this wasn’t just affecting your house. This was your whole neighbourhood. This was your whole region. This was your whole country, and there were ghouls standing on your border refusing to allow water to come in. Those same ghouls that caused this water scarcity in the first place. Those same ghouls bombed the majority of your water wells. Those same ghouls bombed your desalination plants. Those same ghouls bombed your pipe infrastructure, and they bombed your house as well, so the infrastructure became useless anyway.

Imagine those same ghouls are the only ones controlling water into your country. Those same ghouls that are murdering your people every day. Much of the water that is available in Gaza is contaminated anyway and can’t be used, so that reduces the amount of available clean water even further.

Then imagine that your only hope was appealing to strangers on the internet to help. Imagine having to put your little kids in front of cameras for the world to see, begging and pleading for water. And then those same kids thanking the faceless people in the camera for sending them a cup of water to drink that day.

The sheer indignity of this makes me so angry.

But that’s where we are.

Gaza's Forgotten Families Water Distribution 8/8/26

Water is life. None of us can live without water. We need it to hydrate our bodies, but it’s so much more than that. Having just enough water to stop us from dying is the bare minimum of survival.

Living is a whole other thing.

For Palestinians, the search for water every day is a desperate hunt that starts at dawn for many and probably never stops throughout the day.

Many families send their children out with containers to search for water, and they can spend their whole day searching and fetching heavy containers back to their tent — that’s if they’re lucky.

And then they have to do it all again the next day.

Have you ever lifted a 5‑litre bottle of water? Try it. Sure, you can probably lift it, but actually carrying it for a long distance? I know I can just about lift one into the boot of my car and into the house, but I couldn’t lug it back from the shops if I had to walk.

DONATE TO GAZA'S FORGOTTEN FAMILIES

The reason Gaza’s Forgotten Families diverted its aid programme into emergency water initiatives is obvious. Without water you can die in a couple of days. Without easy access, you get children getting stomach hernias from carrying heavy containers they were never built to carry. Without easy access, mothers and fathers spend their days walking in the scorching heat in search of enough water just to drink and stop them dying.

This is the first week since we started GFF that we don’t have enough money to carry out the week’s water initiative ahead. We don’t have enough to carry out 50% of the initiative, and yet we must transfer over what we have tomorrow so that at least that much can be converted into water. We don’t wait because Palestinian families can’t wait.

I am absolutely begging any of you who have some money to spare to please consider donating it to GFF so that we can get water to Palestinian families this week.

I keep watching the videos we post and think, “What if we can’t even get that child a cup of water this week?” and honestly I’m on the verge of having a panic attack at the thought.

I know there are many calls on us to give. I know there are many calls on us to help. But every one of us needs to do something this week. We still need about $2000 to allow us to carry out water deliveries all next week.

Whatever bit of that you can donate will help. Every dollar will turn into water, and somewhere in Gaza someone will drink.

🔗 https://chuffed.org/project/183781-gaza-forgotten-families-fund

DONATE TO GAZA'S FORGOTTEN FAMILIES

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Abood is one of the coordinators for Gaza’s Forgotten Families Initiative, and for the last few weeks he’s been tied up doing the daily water distribution—often twice a day—in the camps that barely get any attention, especially the ones out near the yellow line where most initiatives don’t reach. He does all of this voluntarily, without taking any pay for himself. Now that he finally had a moment to breathe, he was able to write a personal piece that means a lot to him, and hopefully you take the time to read it. If you want to show him some appreciation and support, you can do so at the following link:

Donate to Abood

For me, the second my father was taken, I felt as though I was no longer living the life I once knew. In that single second, my childhood came to an end. A new life began—one I didn’t choose, but one that was forced upon me.

We left my father behind and journeyed into the unknown toward Rafah. We had nothing but a few pieces of wood and fabric to construct a tent that would become our new home. I wasn’t thinking about fear, displacement, or the war itself back then; a single question consumed my mind: How am I going to feed my family?

For the first time in my life, I began to think the way my father used to. I became responsible for an entire family. I didn’t know much about working, aside from simple things my father had taught me when I was little, but I knew that giving up was not an option.

I started searching for a small business idea—something that wouldn’t require a large capital and could provide us with a modest income. I sat with my mother for a long time before making any decision, because the money we had was all we had left. Even her wedding ring became part of our starting capital.

It was a terrifying decision, but it was also a doorway of hope.

I bought some groceries and set up a small street stall in the Rafah market. My brother helped me; I would sit all day selling goods, and then he would come take my place for an hour or two so I could go fetch water for our family.

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Selling and buying weren’t the hardest part of my life.

The hardest thing was the water.

I used to carry two containers, each with a capacity of twenty liters—forty liters of water in total—and walk with them for more than 750 meters to reach our tent.

That water journey drained both my body and my soul. Even today, whenever I smile and recall those days, that exhaustion returns to steal my smile away.

The small business generated around fifty shekels a day—an amount far from enough to sustain a family of seven. Every time we needed money, I had to take a portion from our capital just so we could buy food.

Then came the day that changed everything.

I woke up and went to the market, only to find people buying everything frantically. Some wanted to buy out my entire stall at once.

I understood then that the border crossings had been closed, and that food supplies were about to vanish.

I sold only a portion of the goods and refused to sell the rest, knowing that my family would be the first to need them.

The next day, I went to the wholesale market to restock.

And there... I received one of the biggest shocks of my life.

Prices that had remained stable my entire life had multiplied several times over. I couldn’t even buy ten kilograms of sugar with the amount I had originally used to launch the entire project.

I returned to the tent broken-hearted.

I told my mother that the project was over.

She smiled calmly and said:

“Our sustenance is written in the heavens... and God never forgets His servants.”

Her words were greater than any wealth.

We continued to pray as my mother advised, but the days grew increasingly harsh.

The provisions began to run out.

The money was almost gone.

And hunger drew closer to us than ever before.

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One day, I went to charge my phone and my sister’s laptop—the last thing we had left from our home.

I overheard a group of young men talking about the internet blackout and how they spent their nights doing nothing but waiting for the unknown... or waiting for a missile.

Right then, an idea struck me.

Why don’t I sell movies and TV shows?

Many people laughed at the idea. But I was confident it would work.

Because even in the heart of war, people need a moment to forget death and give their children an hour of laughter.

Just two weeks later... the idea succeeded beyond anything I had expected.

My income became double what I used to make from the grocery stall. People started flocking to get movies, series, and kids’ films, while I explained the content to them, drawing on my passion for cinema from before the war.

For the first time, I felt like I was truly able to save my family a little.

But war never allows joy to last.

Three months later, the occupation forces began threatening Rafah, forcing hundreds of thousands of families to flee once again.

I went alone to Deir al-Balah, then to Khan Younis, searching for any spot to pitch our tent.

I found nothing.

Until I saw a man taking down his tent after his family was martyred in northern Gaza; he was trying to return north.

I took the spot where his tent had stood.

It was not an easy feeling. But we had no choice.

Only one problem remained: How would we pay for the transportation of the tent and the family?

And here came the final farewell...

The farewell to my mother’s ring.

She sold it so we could make the move.

And I never saw that ring again.

We settled in Khan Younis. But the internet returned, and the idea of selling movies spread everywhere.

I was happy that people found a source of entertainment—yet sad that my livelihood had come to an end, once again.

Just two days later, a friend told me that there were people from outside Gaza who wanted to help us.

I didn’t believe him.

How could people who didn’t know me, and didn’t speak my language, care about me?

Those closest to us had failed us... so how could strangers help?

But I was wrong.

I discovered that humanity doesn’t require a single language, a single nationality, or a single religion.

It is enough for a human being to simply be human.

I needed help, but I didn’t know how to ask for it. I wanted people to help me because they wanted to, not because I forced them to hear my story.

I wanted to know why they were doing this.

And today... I know the answer.

Because they saw us as human beings.

The first person I met was from the United States. I was afraid at first. But in less than a week, everything changed.

That person created the very first fundraising campaign for my family. He taught me things I didn’t know.

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Then, by chance, I joined X (formerly Twitter) and saw foreigners talking about Palestine, even translating the news into Arabic.

That was when I realized the world hadn’t forgotten us.

Through those conversations, I met two people who became some of the dearest individuals to my heart.

They never let me down.

They never hurt me with a single word.

They constantly encouraged me, treating what I was doing as something worthy of respect.

They supported me financially and emotionally.

For over two years now, nothing has changed. They remain just as faithful, loving, and full of faith in what I do.

And I don’t think words of gratitude alone could ever give them the appreciation they deserve.

To every person who stood with Palestinians...

To everyone who donated, shared a story, wrote a word, prayed for us, or refused to stay silent in the face of genocide...

Thank you.

We will never forget where you stood for as long as we live.

History will record that you chose to stand with humanity, not with oppression.

As for you—who have become so much more to me than just supporters...

You are friends and family, brought together not by borders, but by humanity.

I love you, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

We are a fully reader - and subscriber - supported publication. We feature citizen journalists unapologetically. Help us grow and fuel honest, citizen journalism by becoming a paid member.

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The water crisis in Gaza continues to deepen. As temperatures soar and water infrastructure continues to fail, clean drinking water has become one of the most urgent humanitarian needs facing displaced families.

Thanks to this community, we were able to continue our emergency water initiative for another week, delivering 96,000 liters of clean drinking water to some of the most underserved camps in northern and central Gaza.

Financial Summary

Funds Raised: $4,172

• Chuffed/Stripe Fees: $142

• International Wire: $30

• Previous Balance (Initiative 9): $288

• Sent to Gaza: $2,000 (Alaa) + $2,000 ()

• Currency Exchange: $160

• Palestinian Team Commission/Labor: $286

• Available for Water Distribution: $3,840

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Central Gaza

Led by Alaa

• 45,000 liters of water distributed

• 9 water trucks

• 9 camps reached

Approximately 1,080 families (5,400 Palestinians) received clean drinking water.

Camps Served

• Al Manara

• Al Riyadh

• Al Aman

• Ma’an

• Al Sumoud

• Ard Al Israa

• Al Aman (second distribution)

• Riyadh (second distribution)

• Al Tashri’i

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Highlights

Throughout the week, Alaa’s team navigated damaged roads, extreme heat, and repeated mechanical breakdowns to reach camps that continue to experience severe water shortages.

One truck suffered a tire blowout while traveling toward Al-Sumoud Camp, delaying delivery, but the team repaired it on-site and continued so families waiting in the heat would not go without water.

Children, mothers, and elderly people waited with empty containers as each truck arrived. Every successful delivery represented another day families could drink, cook, and wash.

Northern Gaza

Led by Abood

51,000 liters of water distributed

Approximately 1,347 families received clean drinking water.

Camps Served

• Al Nasr Street, Al Qouqa, and Al Mina

• Al Masri Camp, Al Shati Camp, and Sheikh Radwan Camp

• Hassouna Camp

• Kazem Camp and Al Ain Camp

• Al Huda Camp and Al Rashid Camp

• Camp 17 and Al Yaqeen Camp

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Highlights

Abood intentionally sought out neighborhoods that are often overlooked because displaced families are living with relatives instead of in formal shelters.

“Today was the best day in terms of the number of people who benefited. We went to areas that almost never receive water distributions because families are staying with relatives rather than in official shelters. They still need water just like everyone else.”

Throughout the week, his team also stopped whenever they saw people walking in the heat.

“We filled a bottle for every person who asked us for water. Seeing people finally quench their thirst was something truly beautiful.”

A Story Behind the Water

Many people ask why so many children in Gaza are seen carrying water containers that weigh almost as much as they do.

Abood explained that many parents leave before sunrise searching for work or aid, leaving children to collect water for the family. Others insist on helping because one adult simply cannot carry enough water alone.

Before the war, these children spent their days in school or playing with friends.

Today, many organize themselves into groups and walk long distances together carrying heavy containers because they know their families may not have another chance to collect water that day.

As Abood told us:

“Before the war, children in Gaza did not have these responsibilities. Today, some of them speak and act as though they are adults. That forced maturity comes with painful consequences no child should ever experience.”

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Initiative Impact

Together this week we delivered

💧 96,000 liters of clean drinking water

🚛 15 emergency water trucks

🏕️ More than 2,400 families reached

❤️ Approximately 12,000 Palestinians served

We Can’t Stop Now

This week, you helped deliver 96,000 liters of clean drinking water to families who had nowhere else to turn.

But as soon as one truck leaves, another camp calls.

The requests don’t stop. The need doesn’t stop. Tomorrow, there will be another mother waiting with empty containers, another child walking in the heat searching for water, another camp hoping they haven’t been forgotten.

We’re now finishing Emergency Water Initiative #11 and will launch Initiative #12 and our goal is to raise $4,000 to keep these trucks moving for another week.

We’ve already raised $1,800. We need another $2,200 to fully fund next week’s distributions.

If you’ve been waiting for a time to help, this is it.

Every $25 provides approximately 625 liters of clean drinking water.

Every $200 sponsors an entire 5,000-liter water truck.

Every donation, no matter the size, becomes something tangible: a filled water container, a child who doesn’t go to bed thirsty, a family that can drink, cook, and wash for another day.

We cannot end the war.

But together, we can continue bringing life, dignity, and hope to the people who need it most.

Please help us fully fund Initiative #12 and keep Gaza’s Forgotten Families on the road. Every drop matters.

Link 🔗 https://chuffed.org/project/183781-gaza-forgotten-families-fund

DONATE TO GAZA'S FORGOTTEN FAMILIES

NOTE: Most of you already know our two coordinators in Gaza, and Alaa. They do all of this voluntarily. They don’t take a cent for their work. If you want to show them some support, some love, some appreciation — they can really use it. Their families need it. Every family in Gaza does.

If you’re able, you can donate directly to them through their links.

Abood:

DONATE TO ABOOD

Alaa:

DONATE TO ALAA

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Support his work by becoming a paid subscriber or donating to his link.

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Every time I sit down to write, I look at the screen and wonder how to even start explaining what life feels like here right now. Because when you try to put a whole catastrophe into words, it feels impossible.

They call it a "yellow line." It sounds so boring, right? Like some bureaucratic term from a map in an office somewhere far away. But here, that line is a wall of death.

If you want to know why everyone is talking about a third Intifada lately, not like some political theory, but as this heavy, inevitable thing hanging in the air, you just need to look at what happened over the last 24 hours. Everything is boiling over.

That "Yellow Line" and the cage

Look at what's happening in Gaza. Over the last few days, maps and reports have shown something terrifying: the military keeps pushing that line deeper, taking more and more land, digging huge dirt mounds, and cutting everything into pieces.

This isn't about security. It’s land theft, plain and simple. About 65 percent of Gaza is basically under their direct control now, and people are squeezed into these tiny, crowded corners where finding clean water or a safe place to sleep is a full-time job. Every single day, they move the invisible borders a bit further, pushing people out of their homes. It’s an open-air prison getting smaller and smaller every hour.

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Meanwhile, in the West Bank

And while Gaza is under fire, the West Bank is a powder keg.

Today, towns up north are locked down tight. After clashes in places like Tell near Nablus, where armed settlers just walked into Palestinian land and people tried to defend their homes, the response was brutal. Four people dead in just one raid, soldiers everywhere, and ministers on TV basically calling for villages to be wiped out.

Let's be honest about the settlers: they aren't just random thugs. They are backed by the state. They burn olive groves, smash cars, and terrorize families while soldiers stand there and watch. They want everyone scared and broken.

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The spark

Every single day and night, they test us. They bomb us, they shoot at the spaces where our kids try to learn and play, and they let armed militias run wild.

They seem to forget one basic thing: you can't keep caging people forever without a reaction. What happened today in the West Bank, people fighting back, refusing to bow down, that's what a breaking point looks like. We are tired. God, we are so tired of counting the dead. But tiredness turns into something else when you have nothing left to lose.

The world just watches and writes statements. But history shows that Palestine doesn't wait for permission. The fuse for a third Intifada isn't being lit by leaders in rooms; it's being lit by every bulldozer pushing past the yellow line, every burned tree, and every sleepless night under the bombs.

We are still here. We're still breathing. And no line on a map is ever going to change that.

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Aya has been outside with her six children for days. Not hours — days. No shelter. No protection. Nothing to shield them from the cold at night or the insects that crawl over everything. Their belongings are on the ground because that’s all they have left. This isn’t a temporary inconvenience. This is a family stuck in the open with nowhere to go after being evicted when they couldn't pay the rent. It's cruel.

You can hear the anger, the fear, the humiliation of having to beg for basic safety from Aya:

“We’ve managed to raise £40, but we still desperately need £440 to get a roof over our heads. I’m out in the freezing open with my children sobbing around me.”

She’s right — £440 isn’t a huge amount. It’s not a luxury. It’s not a dream. It’s literally the cost of getting her children out of the open and into a place where they can sleep without the insects, the mosquitoes biting, the mice crawling everywhere.

This family has been exposed for days. If you can donate, please do. If you can’t, please share. Every share matters.

Campaign link:

https://chuffed.org/project/138820-helping-ayas-family

Donate to Aya

Mayar, Rose, and Baby Kamal

Mayar is 25 and raising two babies. Her toddler, Rose, is suffering because the environment around her is destroying children’s health. The heat, the contaminated water — it’s all showing up on her skin, in her tears. Can you imagine standing by watching your baby cry and being him helpless to do anything about it?

“This is my little daughter Rose’s body… and these are her tears, caused by the unbearable heat and contaminated water. Rose needs medical care and treatment, but I cannot afford them.”

She’s not being dramatic. Her daughter needs medical care, and she can’t pay for it.

Then there’s Kamal, her baby boy. Every two days he needs another can of formula. Diapers costs money…money she doesn't have. These are basics — not extras, not nice‑to‑haves. Basics.

Her fundraiser has been open for six weeks and has only reached $512. That’s about $85 a week. It doesn’t even cover Kamal’s formula, let alone food, clean water, or medical treatment for Rose, herself or her husband.

There is only so much Mayar can do, Israel has destroyed everything in Gaza. If you can donate, please do. If you can’t, please share. Someone out there might be able to help.

Campaign link:

https://chuffed.org/project/mayar06

Donate to Mayar

A Woman Who Has Helped Everyone — Now in Her Own Crisis

This last story is about a woman who has spent months helping other people quietly, consistently, without ever asking for anything for herself. She’s the one who answers messages in the middle of the night. The one who organizes support. The one who listens to people’s trauma and doesn’t turn away. She’s been carrying so many people through their worst moments.

Now she’s stuck in a situation she can’t fix on her own.

Her bank froze her accounts overnight. No warning. No explanation. Everything she has — her income, her savings, every bit of money she relies on — is locked inside those accounts. She can’t touch any of it. She can’t pay her rent. She can’t buy food. She can’t cover basic living costs because the bank has her entire financial life on hold.

Our team can vouch for her. She’s a close friend, and we’ve seen firsthand how much she’s done for others. She’s never asked for anything for herself. She’s always been the one helping everyone else stay afloat.

She’s fighting the bank. She’s confident she’ll get her access back. But right now she’s in a month‑long standstill with no way to use her own money. She’s proud and private, and she hates being in this position, which is why she wants to stay anonymous.

She’s not asking for charity. She’s asking for a temporary bridge — enough to keep her stable for a couple of months while the bank sorts out her accounts. She estimates she needs about $7,000 to cover rent, food, and basic living costs for three months. Just enough to stay afloat until she can access her own funds again.

And she’s made a promise: once her accounts are restored, every dollar raised will be donated back to families in need. She will provide receipts. She wants people to know their help will eventually go right back into helping others.

She’s helped so many people. Now she needs help herself. If you can donate, please do. If you can’t, please share. There are moments in everyone's lives they need help, she's needing it right now.

Campaign link:

https://chuffed.org/project/188615-temporary-support-for-gazas-behind-the-scenes-advocate

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When people talk about Gaza, they often focus on the bombings, hunger, and lack of water. But there is another crisis that receives far less attention, even though it shapes people’s lives every single day: the struggle to find a place to call home.

Today, I want to tell you about another side of life in Gaza—one that rarely makes headlines, even though it affects peyople every day and every night.

In most parts of the world, housing is considered a basic necessity. In Gaza, simply finding a place to sleep has become a battle in itself. The daily question is no longer, “How will we live?” but rather, “Where will we live?”

After the destruction of thousands of homes, hundreds of thousands of families were forced to start over from nothing, searching for any place that could protect them from the sun, the cold, and the rain—or at least give them a small sense of safety.

Some people are living in the streets, with no walls to protect them and no door to close at the end of the day.

Others live in displacement camps. These camps are free to enter, but “free” does not mean dignified or comfortable. The real cost is living an entire life inside a tent.

A tent is not a home.

It is a piece of fabric trying to withstand the scorching summer heat, the bitter winter cold, the wind, the rain, insects, and the complete absence of privacy. It has become a place that embodies waiting, exhaustion, and uncertainty, where families spend months without knowing when they will ever leave.

Some families choose to rent an empty plot of land so they can set up their own tent and have at least a small amount of privacy.

But even the ground beneath their feet has become a financial burden.

The cost of renting land ranges from 2 to 5 Israeli shekels per square meter each month.

A family needing about 150 square meters could end up paying approximately 525 shekels (around $175 USD) every month, based on an average rate of 3.5 shekels per square meter.

Paying that much money simply for an empty piece of land is difficult to imagine under normal circumstances, yet it has become reality in Gaza.

Others are forced to rent apartments—not because they are affordable or easy to find, but because they are trying to hold on to what remains of a normal life, because they still have some source of income, or because they desperately want to provide their children with something safer than a tent.

Today, apartment rents in Gaza range from $333 to $1,000 per month, depending on the location, size, and condition of the apartment.

These prices would be considered high almost anywhere. In Gaza, where countless people have lost their jobs and livelihoods, they are nearly impossible.

Others live inside warehouses that were once commercial buildings but have now become homes for displaced families, like the warehouse where my own family and I live.

The monthly rent for these warehouses ranges from $233 to $600, depending on their size and condition.

The warehouse where we live is relatively large and even has a loft, but at the end of the day, it is still a warehouse—not a home.

Before moving here, I spent much of the war living in the streets.

Everything changed because of an old friend of my father’s. I pray every day that my father returns to us safely.

He allowed me to rent this warehouse for $400 per month.

The rent used to be a little lower, but he told me someone else had offered to pay more.

Even so, I have held on to this place.

Not because it is comfortable, but because it protects my family from many of the hardships faced by those who do not even have a roof over their heads.

The hardest part is not paying rent.

The hardest part is paying rent because the home you once owned no longer exists.

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Every family in Gaza once had a house filled with memories, photographs, dreams, and a sense of belonging.

Then one day, so many of those homes were reduced to rubble.

I wish my home were still standing, even if only a few walls remained.

I would return without hesitation, even if it were inside the yellow zone.

Because a home is not just concrete and bricks.

A home is where you feel that you belong.

My home was my paradise.

Many people believe Gaza’s suffering is limited to hunger and the lack of clean water.

The truth is far greater than that.

There is the struggle to find shelter, the burden of impossible rent, the loss of privacy, raising children inside tents, and the constant fear of losing even the temporary place you managed to find after losing everything else.

Behind every closed door in Gaza is a story.

Behind every tent is a family.

And behind every family paying rent today is a home they once had and never imagined they would lose.

If you truly want to understand Gaza, do not look only at the images of destruction.

Look at the people trying to rebuild a life among the ruins.

Look at the father searching every month for rent on a place he never needed before the war.

Look at the mother trying to turn a tent into a home.

Look at the child who no longer knows what it feels like to have a bedroom of their own.

This is Gaza today.

A place where simply finding a roof over your family’s head has become yet another battle for survival.

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As Gaza's water crisis deepens, both of our teams on the ground shifted their efforts to delivering clean drinking water to camps that have been repeatedly overlooked. Every day brought new requests for help. Every day brought another camp with empty containers.

This initiative raised $4,214.

After

• $143.28 (3.4%) in Chuffed/Stripe processing fees,

• $30 international wire fee

• $40 in Kraken exchange fees

We transferred $2,000 to Alaa in Central Gaza and $2,000 to Abood in Northern Gaza.

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Central Gaza – Alaa

Alaa distributed:

• 40,000 liters of fresh drinking water

• 8 water trucks

• 1,150 families/tents served

• 8 Forgotten camps reached

Camps served:

• Hamama Al Salam - 7/14/26

• Al Waad -7/15/26

• Al-Fayrouz- 7/16/26

• Al-Aman 7/16/26

• Al-Baraka - 7/17/26

• Al-Aman - 7/18/26

• Al Insan -7/18/26

• Al Manara -7/18/26

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After all distributions, $96.08 remained, which will be rolled into Emergency Water Initiative #10 which rolled out this week.

Because of the security situation in Central Gaza, Alaa continues using 5,000-liter trucks instead of larger 12,000-liter trucks. Although the larger trucks are cheaper per liter, they also draw much more attention from the occupation and increase the risk being an Israeli strike target. The smaller trucks reduce visibility and give the team a better chance of reaching remote camps safely.

On July 14, while traveling to fill one of the water trucks, an airstrike landed near the team.

While traveling to the desalination plant to fill the water truck, an airstrike occurred near our location. By the grace and protection of God, every member of the team remained safe. Despite this difficult and stressful situation, the team continued the mission after confirming it was safe to proceed.

Despite the danger, they completed the mission.

On another distribution, the team handed out small gifts to children waiting in the scorching heat for water—a small moment of joy in the middle of unimaginable hardship.

Alaa's receipts.

Funds transferred to Alaa.

Funds received by Alaa.

Currency exchange.

Team commission

Water Truck Receipts

Poster Printing Receipts

Northern Gaza –

Abood distributed:

• 49,500 liters of fresh drinking water

• 6 water trucks

  • Three 12,000-liter trucks

  • Three 4,500-liter trucks

• 1,415 families/tents served

• 9 camps reached

Camps served:

• Al Qawqa and Al Shati - 7/14/26

• Al Siraj - 7//15/26

• Al Waha and Al Awda - 7/16/26

• Al Duha - 7/17/26

• Al Muqousi and Al Shati - 7/19/26

• Al Masri - 7/20/26

After all distributions, $191 remained, which will be rolled into Emergency Water Initiative #10 which rolled out this week.

Throughout the week, Abood repeatedly found camps that had gone without water.

Today, we were able to secure 12,000 liters of fresh drinking water... I noticed that most of these camps had not received any water at all today—it was as if the water trucks had disappeared."

In another camp, families told him they had survived ten days without a water truck.

Every day, five people would pull a single cart to fetch a small amount of water. Then they would divide it equally among themselves.

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On July 20, while on the way to fill another water truck, Abood's team narrowly escaped an airstrike only about 100 meters behind them. They continued the mission, filled the truck, and delivered the water.

Abood's Receipts

Funds transferred to Abood.

Funds received by Abood.

Currency exchange.

Water Truck Receipts

Impact Statement (Initiatives 1–9)

As we close Emergency Water Initiative #9, we wanted to step back and share what this community has accomplished together.

Since launching Gaza's Forgotten Families, you have raised $18,629 in total donations for initiatives 1 - 9. We have launched emergency water initiative #10 this week ($4,000).

Financial Breakdown

• 83.45% ($15,546) → Direct humanitarian aid (food, water, medicine, and essential supplies)

• 8.03% ($1,496) → Commission paid to our Palestinian team on the ground for coordinating, purchasing, transporting, documenting, and distributing aid

• 3.64% ($678.80) → Local currency exchange fees

• 3.05% ($568.57) → Chuffed/Stripe processing fees

• 1.61% ($300) → International bank wire fees

• 1% ($40) → Kraken exchange fees (charged after exceeding $10,000 in exchanges)

Together, we have reached:

• 36 displacement camps

• 4,356 families/tents

• Approximately 21,942 Palestinians (using an average of five people per tent)

These numbers represent far more than statistics.

They represent mothers who no longer have to choose which child drinks first.

Children who don't have to go to sleep thirsty for another night.

Elderly men and women who no longer have to wait in unbearable heat hoping a water truck might come.

They represent communities that had been forgotten—until you showed up.

One message from Alaa captures why this work continues:

Our main priority was delivering water to the truly forgotten families. People thanked Substack's supporters, and we saw the joy in their eyes as we distributed the water... But the painful truth is that thousands of families are still waiting. Children go to sleep thirsty, mothers stand for hours searching for a drop of water, and the elderly find no one to lend them a helping hand. Don't let these voices be silenced by the war."

To every person who donated, shared an article, encouraged someone else to give, or simply chose not to look away—

Thank you.

Because of you, thousands of Palestinians have received food, medicine, emergency supplies, and now life-saving drinking water.

There is still much more work to do. Please continue to help and share this campaign.

https://chuffed.org/project/183781-gaza-forgotten-families-fund

Donate to Gaza's Forgotten Families

We'll continue going where the gaps are, seeking out the families many aid agencies cannot reach, and documenting every initiative with complete transparency.

While Gaza’s Forgotten Families funds the aid, Abood and Alaa are the ones risking their lives to make every distribution possible. If you’d like to thank and bless them personally for their extraordinary work, you can support their individual campaigns below.

Alaa:

https://chuffed.org/project/171331-alaa-and-his-two-little-ones-seek-hope

Donate to Alaa

Abood:

https://chuffed.org/project/174135-seven-lives-one-20-year-old-help-abood-survive-this

Donate to Abood

From all of us at Gaza's Forgotten Families, and from every family who received a meal, a medical supply, or a drop of clean water.

THANK YOU FOR STANDING WITH GAZA

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We cannot do justice by paraphrasing what he told us today. We'll let you read his words.

"I just got back from delivering today's water truck, and right now all I can say is: Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. God saved me and my team from the bombing. Praise be to God for sparing our lives.

We were on our way to fill the truck with water. About 100 meters behind us, there was a jeep, and it was struck directly by an airstrike. The truck driver immediately accelerated to get us away from the attack, which could easily have hit us as well. Despite that, we continued to the water station and filled the truck. Then, on our way to the camp, we had to drive back through the same street where the strike had happened. I saw the vehicle that had been hit, and I filmed it.

There was one martyr. They couldn't find his body intact and had to collect his remains from the scene using bags. There were also more than 14 people injured who happened to be passing by on the road."

And yet they kept going.

They filled the truck.

They delivered the water.

That is what it takes to keep people alive in Gaza.

Those of us sitting in comfortable homes, with food on the table and clean water whenever we want it, cannot truly understand what Palestinians endure. Not even for a moment.

And we want to pause on that.

Because it's not just "comfort." It's the thousand tiny things we don't even register as blessings. We sit behind windows that keep out the dust and heat. We have electricity humming in the background, powering our lights, refrigerators, fans, and phones. We have walls that keep out mosquitoes, flies, and pests instead of fighting them every night in a tent. We have roofs that don't leak, floors that aren't dirt, and the luxury of silence instead of drones and explosions.

These are privileges so ordinary that we forget they're privileges at all.

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Meanwhile, in Central Gaza, Alaa is facing a different challenge.

In Alaa's words:

"My phone hasn't stopped ringing. Camp leaders we've visited over the past several days are calling, pleading with us to send them more water trucks.

The situation is becoming more difficult by the hour.

In this relentless heat, water is no longer simply a necessity. It is survival.

Thousands of families, children, and elderly people are facing severe shortages of clean water. Some water stations have stopped operating altogether, and the crisis grows worse every day."

This is why we cannot stop.

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Every day Abood leaves his home knowing he may not come back.

Every day Alaa does the same.

Because of the danger in Central Gaza, Alaa cannot use the larger 12,000-liter trucks, even though they are significantly cheaper per liter. The larger trucks draw too much attention, increasing the risk to the team. Instead, he uses smaller 5,000-liter trucks because minimizing visibility gives them the best chance of reaching the camps safely—and making it home alive.

These are calculations no humanitarian team should ever have to make.

But this is the reality of Gaza.

We created Gaza's Forgotten Families because too many camps were being overlooked. We go where the gaps are. We seek out the families that many aid agencies cannot reach, and we continue returning because the need never ends.

Water is life.

Every truck means another camp survives another day.

Every donation becomes clean drinking water.

If you are able, please help us keep these trucks on the road. The need is urgent, and the calls for help are only growing.

Donate to Gaza's Forgotten Families

We appreciate each and every one of you who supports the people of Gaza. We truly do.

But…

The people of Gaza will cease to exist if we don’t do more.

If you have any voice, use it to scream from the rooftops about what’s happening.

Use it like this was happening to your family. Use it so your voice goes hoarse.

We have to lift our voices higher than ever. Because if we don’t, ours will be the only voices left in a desert of silence filled with dead bodies that once was Gaza.

We’re reaching that point and there is no one to stop them but you. All of you.

Do whatever you can - please.

🔗 https://chuffed.org/project/183781-gaza-forgotten-families-fund

Donate to Gaza's Forgotten Families

And for these two young men, one barely out of his teens… if you want to show them appreciation and love, please support them and their families. Links are below. Thank you.

Abood:

https://chuffed.org/project/174135-seven-lives-one-20-year-old-help-abood-survive-this

Donate to Abood

Alaa:

https://chuffed.org/project/171331-alaa-and-his-two-little-ones-seek-hope

Donate to Alaa

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Islam Salouha tried to evacuate his family from Gaza under white flags. They did everything civilians are told to do — slow steps, visible, no threat, just trying to get out alive. Israeli terrorists still opened fire. His six‑year‑old son was killed right in front of him. Other relatives were hit. It was a family trying to survive, and they were shot down anyway.

This is beyond heartbreaking, beyond soul‑crushing, that this keeps happening over and over again. And the world is not stopping this shit. It’s been happening for 78 years and nothing is changing, nothing. Everything remains the same. Babies are still being hunted, targeted, and slaughtered. Innocent civilians are still being wiped out. It’s the same cycle, the same brutality, the same horror, repeating itself while everyone watches and does nothing.

Manufacturing Dissent exists because of you. We’re independent—powered only by readers and listeners. For less than a coffee, you can join us. Annual memberships are 30% off. Stand with us. Fuel citizen journalism. Keep dissent alive.

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Over the past week, thanks to your continued generosity, our teams completed two separate humanitarian initiatives across Northern Gaza and Central Gaza, delivering fresh food and clean drinking water to families living in some of the most underserved communities in Gaza.

Working independently, Abood served northern Gaza while Alaa focused on central Gaza and Gaza City. Together, these initiatives continued our mission:

We go where the gaps are. We actively seek out families that many aid agencies cannot reach, ensuring they are not forgotten.

And now, with one of the most evil genocider gone…let's help Palestinians survive to see them rebuild Gaza.

Donate to Gaza's Forgotten Families

Update #7 — Northern Gaza

Facilitated by

What We Delivered

🥬 55 vegetable and fruit parcels

💧 17,000 liters of clean drinking water

🥛 162 milk cartons for the children.

📍 Marginalized communities in northern Gaza

Abood began shopping before sunrise, allowing him to secure lower wholesale prices and provide a wider variety of fresh produce, including lychee—a fruit many families had not enjoyed in a long time.

Rather than preparing more food parcels, he intentionally reserved funding for a much larger water delivery, allowing us to distribute 12,000 liters of clean drinking water the following day (7/10/26). He also distributed an additional 5,000 liters of water on 7/11/26 and 162 cartons of Almarai milk to the children.

A Moment We'll Remember

One woman receiving her parcel smiled as she tasted the lychee and commented on how delicious it was.

Sometimes hope arrives in unexpected ways—even through a piece of fresh fruit.

Financial Summary

Item Amount

Funds Raised $2,000

Wire Fee $30

Carryover from Previous Initiative $138

Currency Exchange $49.25

Team Support $205

Vegetables & Fruit $1,100

Bags $35.24

Posters $13.30

Transportation $35.24

12,000L Water Truck $400

5,000L Water Truck. $200

162 Cartons of Milk. $120

Update #8 — Central Gaza

Facilitated by Alaa

What We Delivered

🥬 43 vegetable parcels

💧 10,000 liters of clean drinking water

📍 Al-Maqousi Camp and Al Riyadh Camp

As always, Alaa's team sought out families who had not previously received assistance rather than returning to the same camp.

The vegetable initiative reached 43 displaced families, while two separate water initiatives brought clean drinking water to hundreds of families enduring severe shortages.

Moments We'll Remember

During the vegetable distribution, a young boy ran after the team calling:

My father is a martyr. Nobody brings us anything.

It was a heartbreaking reminder of why these initiatives matter.

Donate to Gaza's Forgotten Families

During the first water distribution, hundreds of families gathered after hearing the truck had arrived.

Many had gone an entire week without clean drinking water.

Fear that the water would run out led to tension among those waiting.

Thankfully, our team quickly organized the crowd, reassured everyone, and ensured every family present received water peacefully.

The second water initiative brought another unexpected challenge.

On the way to Al Riyadh Camp, the water truck broke down.

Knowing families were already waiting, the team immediately contacted a mechanic and worked quickly to repair the truck rather than canceling the distribution.

Thankfully, the truck was repaired, and the team completed the delivery that same day despite scorching summer temperatures.

For families living in tents, this water means far more than relief from thirst.

It provides water for drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene—essentials for survival during one of Gaza's hottest periods of the year.

Financial Summary

Item Amount

Funds Raised $2,000

Crypto Exchange $59

Team Support $191

Transportation $48

Laminated Posters $66

Vegetable Distribution. $1,205

Water Initiative #1 $200

Water Initiative #2 $200

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Combined Impact

Together, Updates #7 and #8 provided:

🥬 98 fresh vegetable and fruit parcels

💧 22,000 liters of clean drinking water

❤️ Hundreds of marginalized families reached across Northern and Central Gaza

Thank you for continuing to stand with Gaza's Forgotten Families.

Every initiative reminds us that while the need remains immense, every parcel delivered, every liter of water distributed, and every family reached tells someone they have not been forgotten.

Donate: https://chuffed.org/project/183781-gaza-forgotten-families-fund

Donate to Gaza's Forgotten Families

Note: Abood and Alaa do this work voluntarily. They don’t take anything from the labor costs that are set aside for distribution. They pass every bit of it straight to their team. They do this out of their own generosity. They’re both hardworking young men, brave as hell, going into areas no other initiative goes near — close to the yellow line — just to reach people who’ve been forgotten. Their families need support just as much as anyone else in Gaza. If you want to show love or appreciation, please donate directly to them.

Alaa: https://chuffed.org/project/171331-alaa-and-his-two-little-ones-seek-hope

Donate to Alaa

Abood: https://chuffed.org/project/174135-seven-lives-one-20-year-old-help-abood-survive-this

Donate to Abood

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On July 8, —a member of our own community—distributed fresh fruits and vegetables to families in Gaza. If you watch the video of this distribution—and I really hope you do—you'll see firsthand the raw, heartbreaking gratitude. The first woman in line is moved to tears—not just out of thanks, but out of sheer desperation and relief. These families are profoundly grateful for even the most basic necessities.

Look closely at the conditions they’re enduring. These aren’t even proper tents—just makeshift shelters. It’s a stark reminder that these people have been marginalized by policies and forgotten by the world.

We need to share their story. These families have no one outside of Gaza to speak for them. They don't have phones or campaigns. They are the very definition of the forgotten families we aim to help.

We are literally the first ones to reach them with fresh food. So please, share this widely—on your social media, with your friends, neighbors, family, churches, mosques, and community centers.

We see images like this all the time on our timelines, but this is different—this is one of our own community members, Abood, on the ground. That should bring this reality closer to home. These are not distant faces; these are real people, and we need to understand that this could be any of us in a different circumstance.

I’m asking you—please donate to this initiative. Without your contributions, none of this would be possible. I’m grateful to every one of you who has shared and donated already. These families are in desperate need, and it’s on us to do what we can for our fellow human beings.

Donate here: https://chuffed.org/project/183781-gaza-forgotten-families-fund

Donate to Gaza's Forgotten Families

Note: Abood does this entirely voluntarily and receives no compensation. If you’d like to show your appreciation for him directly, you can do so here:

https://chuffed.org/project/174135-seven-lives-one-20-year-old-help-abood-survive-this

Donate to Abood

Manufacturing Dissent exists because of you. We’re independent—powered only by readers and listeners. For less than a coffee, you can join us. Annual memberships are 30% off. Stand with us. Fuel citizen journalism. Keep dissent alive.

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Large humanitarian aid organizations play a vital role in responding to emergencies, but logistically it is too difficult for them to reach many families living in isolated camps, scattered tents, damaged neighborhoods, and dangerous areas so these pockets of people often get left behind. Our mission has always been to work alongside trusted local partners to identify those forgotten communities and bring them life-sustaining aid.

Over the course of our first six completed initiatives, your generosity has provided emergency humanitarian assistance to 993 families, reaching an estimated 4,965 people across Gaza.

Every initiative has been documented through photographs, videos, receipts, and detailed financial reporting because we made a commitment to transparency and you, as a donor, deserve to know where your money is being spent.

Financial Transparency

For Initiatives 1–6, we have accounted for $10,135.00 in distributed funds.

Where Your Money Went

More than 83 cents of every dollar donated was used to purchase humanitarian aid directly inside Gaza.

These funds purchased:

🥭Fresh fruit and vegetables

💧Clean drinking water

🥖Bread

🍼Baby care packages

🧼Hygiene and household supplies

⛑️Special health packages

Other essential miscellaneous humanitarian assistance

The remaining 17 cent on the dollar account for the costs of moving humanitarian funds into an active war zone, converting currencies, and giving a small stipend to the Palestinian humanitarian workers who make every distribution possible.

Donate to Gaza's Forgotten Families

Why Local Team Compensation Is Part of the Aid

Over the first six campaigns, $909.52 (8.97%) was allocated to compensate our trusted humanitarian teams inside Gaza.

This is not corporate overhead. It is part of the humanitarian impact.

Our local coordinators spend days sourcing wholesale produce, negotiating prices, arranging transportation, coordinating with beneficiary families, documenting every initiative, packing aid parcels, distributing supplies, and often traveling into dangerous areas that many organizations cannot safely reach.

These are not outside contractors. They are Palestinians living through the very same humanitarian crisis as the families they are helping.

The modest compensation they receive helps support their own families, purchase food, and meet daily necessities while allowing them to continue carrying out this work.

In other words, these funds remain inside Gaza, circulating within the local economy and supporting the very community we are trying to help.

Every member of the Gaza's Forgotten Families team outside Gaza—including those coordinating fundraising, donor communications, financial reporting, writing, logistics, and administration—serves entirely as a volunteer.

No member of our U.S. or diaspora team receives any salary, compensation, or administrative fee.

The only administrative expenses outside Gaza are the unavoidable financial costs associated with processing donations, international wire transfers, and currency conversion.

Taken together, this means that more than 92% of all distributed funds remained inside Palestine—either purchasing humanitarian aid directly or supporting the Palestinians responsible for delivering that aid.

Now for the nice bit…..

Humanitarian Impact

Through the first six initiatives, your generosity helped provide assistance to approximately:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 993 families reaching an estimated 4,965 people.

For the nerdy people who love numbers this translates into a cost of just over $2 per person.

So you can begin to see how even the smallest donation can make an impact.

Behind those numbers are real people struggling to survive a genocide.

Parents struggling to feed their children and infants.

Elderly men and women often living alone with untreated chronic illnesses.

Families caring for relatives with disabilities and catastrophic war injuries.

Children recovering from devastating injuries.

Large numbers of amputees who are completely dependant on others for their survival

All of whom, without your generosity, might never have received assistance.

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What Your Donations Provided

Over the first six completed campaigns, your support helped provide:

💧 30,000 liters of clean drinking water

🥬 Fresh vegetable distributions

🍞 Emergency bread distributions

👶 Baby care packages

🧼 Hygiene and sanitation supplies

🩺 Specialized health assistance

🍎 Emergency fruit distributions

♿ Disability support packages

🏕️ Aid for displaced families living in tents

🏚️ Assistance to families living among the ruins of their homes

Beyond the Numbers

Statistics tell only part of the story.

Behind this stats:

• An injured father caring for his severely burned son received assistance after losing nearly his entire family in an Israeli strike.

• Umm Khamis received specialized hygiene supplies while caring for two adult family members living with disabilities.

• An elderly woman who lost both her home and her children took the opportunity of the camera to shout her anger and heartache to the world

• A displaced man living completely alone in a tent told our team:

This is the first time anyone has come to my tent.

Thousands of liters of clean drinking water reached communities where truck drivers are often reluctant to travel because of the danger.

Fresh vegetables reached families who had not seen nutritious produce in the longest time.

These are not simply deliveries.

They are reminders that people living through unimaginable hardship have not been forgotten.

Donate to Gaza's Forgotten Families

Why Local Partnerships Matter

Every Gaza's Forgotten Families initiative is coordinated by trusted Palestinians living inside Gaza.

They know which neighborhoods have received little assistance.

They know which roads remain passable.

They know which families are struggling in silence.

They know where humanitarian aid rarely reaches.

Their local knowledge allows every donation to go further while ensuring assistance reaches families that larger distributions may unintentionally miss.

That is what makes Gaza's Forgotten Families different.

We are not simply delivering aid.

We are searching for the people who have been overlooked.

Looking Ahead

To date, the Gaza's Forgotten Families campaign has raised $14,510.

Of that amount, approximately $4,000 remains reserved for Updates #7 and #8 which will be launched later this week, allowing us to continue responding quickly to urgent humanitarian needs as they arise.

As long as families continue to fall through the cracks...

As long as parents struggle to feed their children...

As long as clean water remains difficult to access...

We will continue this work.

Because no family should ever be forgotten.

Thank you for placing your trust in Gaza's Forgotten Families.

Every contribution has become more than a donation—it has become food on a family's table, clean water in a child's cup, hygiene supplies for vulnerable households, and a reminder to nearly five thousand people that they have not been forgotten. Together, we will continue reaching those who need it most.

Donate: https://chuffed.org/project/183781-gaza-forgotten-families-fund

Donate to Gaza's Forgotten Families

Manufacturing Dissent exists because of you. We’re independent—powered only by readers and listeners. For less than a coffee, you can join us. Annual memberships are 30% off. Stand with us. Fuel citizen journalism. Keep dissent alive.

Subscribe now