Gaza's Forgotten Families: Emergency Water Initiative #9

The water crisis is growing. So must our response.

Over the past week, your support allowed us to focus entirely on one thing: **keeping people alive through emergency water distributions.**

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

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

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Northern Gaza – Abood A

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.

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

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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

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

Abood:

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

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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