Hello, I'm Asmaa. I’m a young mother and a survivor, who has lost almost everyone of her family.

Today, in August 2025, I am once again displaced, forced to flee the north of Gaza and move south with no clear destination. I have no tent, no shelter, and no place to call home. I gave birth to my son Youssef in November 2024, in a tent. Today, I don’t even have that.

In one attack, I lost 16 members of my family, including my mother, my brother, two sisters, my aunt, my uncle, and his children. The ambulance wasn't allowed to get to them for hours. I still have nightmares about that. My mother held my son Youssef before she was killed. That is one of the few warm memories I carry with me. I loved my family with all my heart. We were happy because we had each other. Now only my father and my husband are left to me, and both are injured. And my beloved son, the reason I stay alive, the reason I try to smile, and make him smile, even in the middle of this nightmare.

Baby formula and diapers are nearly impossible to find. And when they are available, they are unbearably expensive. I can’t breastfeed due to malnutrition and constant stress. I recently had to undergo urgent surgery. Afterward, I walked home alone, in severe pain. The operation was only possible because of donations, and it used up almost everything we had received. Donations are the only thing helping us survive, even if barely. Now we are displaced again. We need a tent, my home was destroyed.

I’m still here trying, for my son, for myself and for my mother, who was the light of my life and my best friend. The memory of her gives me strength to hold on. I try to become the light in my son’s life, just as she was in mine. Every bit of support helps me survive another day. It helps us to find food, medicine, or maybe even shelter again. Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for caring and thank you for reminding me that good people still exist.

Love

-Asmaa