Help Mahmoud (rip) & Mohammed's Family survive genocide

Hi! I'm Jenn. Mahmoud is a dear childhood friend of Hosam, who I volunteered to support through Operation Olive Branch. I live near Chicago Illinois and will be fundraising for him.

Here is his story:

My name is Mahmoud Al-Akhras, and I find myself in a strange situation as I write this and I ask for your help.

My family consists of 9 members, and we all lived an ideal life full of happiness and psychological stability. We had a beautiful home that my parents, my siblings, and I had struggled to build, and we were all striving to achieve our personal goals and pursuits. My parents were committed to their work to support us and provide a decent life for me and my siblings, and my brothers were committed to their work and studies. I was about to get married before the Gaza war, but unfortunately the war came and stole my fiancée from me

Together, we were building our future step by step, full of hope and love. We were busy. I was working in construction and saving money to get married, and my younger brother was a police recruit and dreamed of an ideal apartment to get married in. My middle and older brothers supported the house, their children and their wives, and helped my father meet the family’s needs.

But everything changed on October 7th. Within two months of the start of the war on Gaza, we were forced to flee our home after the Israeli army entered the city of Khan Yunis, with nothing but the clothes we were wearing. We took refuge in Rafah, where we stayed in a tent made of fabric that did not protect us from the bitter cold, harmful insects, or the scorching rays of the sun. We listened to the sounds of explosions, saw flames and columns of smoke rising to the sky, and warplanes and drones flew above our heads all this time. All we hoped for was for the suffering to end and for us to be able to return to our home.

One day I received news of the army’s withdrawal from our area. I was terrified and told my brothers the news of the withdrawal. So my two brothers, Shehadeh and I, decided to go down to our house and inspect it. My brothers and I headed to the house and he was fine and unharmed, and suddenly here was the horrific news! While we were inside the house, it was bombed by a missile from a warplane. The three of us inside the house were injured and evacuated to the hospital. It was a miracle that we were injured and did not die!

My older brother, Ali, was injured by shrapnel in his feet and several fractures in his back due to the roof of the house falling directly on his back

My little brother Shehadeh, had a body full of shrapnel. During his transfer to the hospital, his heart stopped several times, and his condition was very critical due to several fragments penetrating the wall of his rib cage, bleeding inside the lung, and also several fractures in his leg due to the kitchen ceiling falling on his foot during the bombing.

I was hit by shrapnel in my foot, and one of the shrapnel penetrated my left foot and cut the sciatic nerve in it, which led to a complete loss of movement and feeling.

Days pass and we are suffering in Rafah, the new area of ​​displacement, where there is poverty, pollution, and lack of food, medicine, and water. We have been exposed to diseases due to poor sanitation, and we have faced a significant increase in the prices of necessities.

This is the 5th time my family and I have been displaced. This GoFundMe will provide necessary financial support for us to find and afford the basic necessities we need as they are going to become even more scarce and expensive now that the only open border in Rafah has been destroyed and closed to evacuation and to humanitarian aid of all kinds coming in.

The funds will also make it possible for us to evacuate when the times come for us to do so safely.

We all thank you and appreciate every donation. Please stand with our family and support us in this very difficult and dangerous time.