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Gaza: Resilience and Hope, a New Start for a Family

  • Lucky Escapes

      13 September 2025

    Just a quick update about Imad and his family. Imad has had a couple of lucky escapes in the last week.

    Earlier this week he was helping his brother to move and they came under fire. A person helping them was shot in the shoulder. Fortunately, that person survived and was discharged from hospital within a few hours of being shot.

    This morning I woke to a facebook message from Imad saying he and his family left their home in Gaza City to move to Deir al-Balah at 8 am Thursday morning Gaza time.

    At 8.15 am the same morning the houses in his neighbourhood were bombed, including his home. Many of his neighbours were killed. Not unlike a lot of other people killed in Gaza these were civilians.

    I have no words (it's a phrase I've used regularly with Imad, as he's talked with me about relatives and friends who have been killed).

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    • 16/09/2025 by Eileen

      Have to say this latest message has left me heart-broken. Will there be no end to it? As you say, no words. We are durrently in Canberra for an international meeting of the Order of St John and had a church service yesterday at which ++Sir David Moxon gave the sermon. His message was fundamentally about how, over the centuries, agressors have come and gone and that, even in desperate situations, we mustn't give up. I spoke to him afterwards about Imad and his family, and his response echoed our own thoughts on the awfulness of the situation. We will all continue to pray as hard as we can - although I just wish there was a way to get them away to immediate safety and bring an end to their constant uncertainty and suffering.

    • 16/09/2025 by Eileen

      PS Did you see in the news that Rev. Andy, from St Barnabas, is part of the protest in front of Nicola Willis's office in Johnsonville, trying to get some action from the govt over the situation in Gaza?

  • Imad's August update

      22 August 2025
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    It has been awhile since I wrote to you to update you about Imad.

    Firstly, the good news, Imad and his immediate family are still alive, and have been able to access some food. However, everything is relative, this can mean just eating small meals once a day.

    In the middle of July he did manage to locate some locally ground vegetables and give them away.

    Secondly, more good news, all of the Imad's children have completed their end of school year exams and tests, despite everything that is going on around them. It is hard to fathom how they have been able to study, given the noise of weaponry around them, not to mention the physical surroundings.

    But judging by the results, study they have been; all his children have received scores in their various subjects from between 90% to 100% (I've included a photo) .

    Now for the bad news (this does contain horrific information, so if you don't want to read further please stop). Imad has had several friends and their families die. In some cases, he's seen friends bleed to death in a hospital because the hospital no longer has the capacity to treat all patients. According to Imad, people are given an IV drip to help ease the pain and then are left to die in the corridors of the hospital, or parents hold their young children as they fade away.

    Imad has received evacuation orders to leave Gaza city including a phone call from the IDF. For the time-being he is staying put. Neither choice to stay, or evacuate is particularly good.

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  • Imad June Update

      25 June 2025
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    Some good news, Imad and his family are still alive. They are living in their house. However, the shelling and the bombing has gotten really close to their house, (800 m or 2624.67 ft).

    During Israel's conflict with Iran the number of flights from F 35 planes dropping bombs on Gaza reduced. If, and it is a very big if, if the ceasefire between Israel and Iran holds, it is likely the number of flights over Gaza will increase again.

    Despite the noise and violence, Imad’s children continue to focus on their studies and are having end of year exams. One child managed to get 13/10 in a maths test. I asked Imad how this could be; bonus marks!

    Food remains extremely scarce. Recently, Imad and his eldest son went to get a 25 kg bag of flour at night from one of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Aid distribution sites. They didn't get any flour, but they did see a lot of dead bodies along the way, of people who had been going to get aid.

    A good day for food is when you get a whole flat bread as opposed to the usual half of bread as your daily meal. Occasionally, there will be beans to eat. When Imad does manage to get his hands on the 25 kg bag of flour, he will break it up into two kg portions for his neighbours.

    However, there is very little energy for cooking food or heating water. Imad is now burning his beloved university engineering textbooks in order to provide energy to cook food and heat water.

    There is a photo of a water truck that Imad arranged in late May.

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    • 25/06/2025 by Eileen

      SUCH a relief to know that they are still alive. We have been so worried. (And it's amazing that the young ones are even managing to do well with their studies, bless them!) I really don't know how they all manage to keep going, what with the worry, insecurity, danger, lack of food and everything else. We continue to pray for them, and will send another donation. Thanks so much for keeping us updated.

  • New Imad update

      7 May 2025
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    It's been a while since the last update.

    Firstly, on 25 March our Givealittle page finished. It had been a time limited campaign, which we had extended several times, and we couldn't really extend it any more.

    That's not to say the need has gone away, & money is still going to Gaza to help Imad. In the future we plan to use my husband's substack to update people on what is happening to Imad and his family https://davidhammond385478.substack.com/publish/home .

    With last month's payment, Imad built and installed a well near his home. He connected it to 20 houses in the neighbourhood, there are 10-20 people in each house (its being powered by solar panels); I'm not sure what state the houses are in but I think people have made them as liveable as possible.

    It means houses have a 2 hour rotation where they can have access to running water for washing (it's not suitable for drinking water). For obvious reasons Imad's not keen to advertise the fact, just in case the IDF finds out and targets it. So we aren't providing any photos.

    Last week Imad had a cyst removed, and had a local anaesthetic for something that usually would require a general anaesthetic. He went back yesterday to the hospital to get the wound treated and Imad said this "Today, I went to change and clean the wound. There was no antiseptic, no gloves, and no medical gauze."

    Fortunately, for Imad he was able to purchase gauze and iodine in the market.

    I included a photo that looks down from Imad's home.

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  • Northern Gaza

      2 March 2025
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    The last time I updated you about Imad and his family, they had just arrived back at their home in Northern Gaza.

    The ceasefire has managed to hold. During this time, food is more available, however, water is still hard to access for many people. And the weather is still extremely cold.

    Beyond that, other parts of life continue to be hard as well, with no electricity and more limited Internet connection than in the south.

    However, Imad bought some solar panels to power a well near their house. This provides water to 10 homes. Each home has approximately 20 people in it. Imad has also bought approximately 3000 Litres (792 gallons) of water for the wider community.

    Imad's wife Hala is undertaking some teaching. But the limited Internet connection, has limited the amount of education the children have been able to undertake online.

    Despite this, Imad is still very much focused on the children's education. This Saturday Imad's eldest son Ayman returned to school.

    The previous Saturday Ayman had been interviewed for a scholarship to attend a school in the Netherlands to complete his secondary education. We thought it amazing that Imad had been able to collect the information required just to put together an application let alone Ayman get as far as having an interview.

    Whether Ayman would have any way of getting out of Gaza to attend school in the Netherlands is a different matter.

    I've included a photo of people collecting water from a water tanker.

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    • 13/03/2025 by Eileen

      His perseverence and tenacity in the face of such difficulties - not to mention his determination to find solutions - is both humbling and inspiring. Hats off, too, to his family and we shall hold Ayman in our prayers and pray that he will indeed be able to get to the Netherlands. On the subject of water, I was just reading the latest Oxfam report and I see they say that access to water in Northern Gaza and Rafah stands at only 7% of what it was pre-conflict - so a big shout-out to Imad for all his efforts to improve the situation. Kia kaha, kia toa, kia manawanui!

  • Imad returns to the site of his home

      29 January 2025
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    Just a short update, yesterday Imad and his family walked for 9 hour (25 kilometres/15.5 miles) to the site of their house.

    He sent through some photos which we added to the collection of photos on this page along with one with this update (I can only add one photo to the update, so I added them to the wider collection of photos on this page rather than this update).

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    • 30/01/2025 by Eileen

      Oh gosh! Must be so hard for them to stay positive - and indeed even to know where to start in terms of re-building a life there - but please tell them to "hang in there".

  • New year's news on Imad

      27 January 2025
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    It has been a while since I wrote about Imad and his family.

    With the ceasefire in place Imad is keen to visit the site of his home in northern Gaza (at this stage the plan is for Imad and his extended family to base themselves there). At this stage Palestinian residents are to be allowed back into the north of the Gaza Strip on the 27th of January local time.

    In the meantime he has been helping friends to clear rubble from the sites of their homes in southern Gaza. One of the things that may not have been mentioned in media reports is the fact that people walking on the roads pass by corpses or skeletons as they return to their homes.

    Prior to the ceasefire Imad had either been using last months' money to buy 3 kilos of flour for 33 families (at the time the flour was selling for USD $6 per kilo), or giving direct financial assistance where it was appropriate. There had been vegetables available but these were too expensive even for Imad to purchase for his family.

    One thing we did learn is that Imad and his family have not had any red or white meat for 4-5 months. And if Imad has not had red or white meat in that timeframe it's hard to imagine many others accessing this source of protein either in Gaza.

    When the rain has not been pouring through their roof Imad's children have been busy studying. Imad seems laser focused on ensuring his children continue their education regardless of the current circumstances.

    I've included a photo of the flour.

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    • 28/01/2025 by Eileen

      Praying that the ceasefire will hold and that Imad and his family will indeed be able to return to their home area - although I dread to think what chaos and destruction they will find when they get there (not to mention what awful sights they may see along the way, by the sound of it). I do so admire their tenacity and pray that things will now gradually start to improve - starting with the supply of food!

  • Extended Ongoing Fundraising for Monthly Donations

      25 December 2024
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    We continue to send money to Imad for his family and another colleague's (killed in the war) family and for him to use on small-scale projects to share with those in need. Over the past several months, we have provided 2 mobile toilets for use in the tent camps, drinking water, food parcels, fruit and vegetables, tarps and blankets, printed educational materials, and hygiene packs. Let us know if you want to know more and how you can participate. Thank you. Imad recently told us that we are keeping him going during this war.

    *Note: We are also holding onto the initial money we fundraised for rebuilding their lives after the war ... whether they stay in Gaza or are able to leave Gaza.

    Photo: Imad and two of his kids

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    • 27/12/2024 by Eileen

      Imad and his family and colleagues, are in my thoughts every day. I cannot imagine how they manage to keep going and to do all the good work that they do, in a situation of so much danger and uncertainty. They are an inspiration and I pray that they will stay safe and live to see peace prevail.

  • Imad Update Part Two

      25 November 2024
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    So with the price of goods being so variable Imad has been very careful in how the money has been used.

    Either waiting for the times when there is more food available and therefore cheaper to buy and distribute, or purchasing non food items like blankets to keep people warm at night during winter, tarpaulin to cover tents to provide protection from the rain, or education material (printing course books that have been prepared in the West Bank educationalists but have not been allowed into Gaza; I've included a photo Imad provided of the booklets he printed, it cost about $USD 60).

    The other thing I wanted to tell you about is an article I wrote and I've published on my husband's substack. It's about 2000 words and goes into the granular detail of what life is like for Palestians living in Gaza and Palestians living away from Gaza who have family living there. I would like to think this takes you behind the headlines to get a peek into the reality not carried in news stories. Depending on how it is received I might do other articles.

    https://open.substack.com/pub/davidhammond385478/p/death-has-become-like-drinking-coffee?r=2v7eoy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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    • 29/11/2024 by Eileen

      I don't know how those responsible for all this can live with themselves. It's all absolutely gutting and I keep praying that some sense of humanity will prevail as soon as possible. Can you please remind us how to make a donation?

    • 29/11/2024 by Eileen

      Oh, ignore previous question - I've just found the link!

  • Imad Update Part One

      25 November 2024

    Hi Everyone,

    With a 1500 character limit per post I've decided split my post into two updates.

    Much has happened since my last update. It's so hard to know where to start. As many of you are aware, accessing food is getting progressively harder as minimal amounts of aid and commercial goods are getting into Gaza.

    What may not be making it into news is the fact that this is impacting the whole of the Gaza Strip not just the North; the circumstances in the north of Gaza are beyond description (Imad had members of extended family in Northern Gaza including his brother, and members of his wife's  family, they managed to get out but, only after surviving on saltwater for weeks). But living conditions in the South are also not good.

    Food is hard to get and expensive. Even basics such as flour are in very short supply; so it's either very expensive, spoiled, or you simply can't get it.

    A 25 kilo (55 pounds) bag of flour costs  $ (USD) 200.00 or $ (NZD) 340.00. It's something most people simply can't afford (even in smaller portions).

    The other thing is that the flour can be spoiled, with either weevils or worms in it due to it sitting around for long periods of time waiting to be approved by Israel or once inside Gaza waiting for a safe distribution channel.

    Take it from Imad and his family, this flour does not taste nice when used in bread!

    While the video is not of Imad's family, it provides a good insight into the challenges of using flour with weevils or worms in it

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  • Extending our fundraising time frame

      29 September 2024
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    With no end in sight to this conflict we have decided to extend the fundraising timeframe.

    In the meantime we've attached a photo Imad took of a classroom his youngest son attends.

    His oldest children have been enrolled in online courses provided out of the West Bank. Despite the intermittent access to the internet and the reliance on solar energy to charge phones, they will be doing their academic work on smartphones.

    Infact, university students are attempting to undertake their studies online via West Bank universities despite the constraints of internet access and electricity. For context they are doing this in the tents that you may have seen on TV.

    Now for some good news that continues the education theme.

    I have a Palestinian Christian friend in East Jerusalem. In October last year one of her adult sons who was tutoring at Hebrew University lost his job, due to him being Palestinian.

    Well, he applied for and was accepted in the Masters' degree at Oxford university. It was a complicated process for his family to raise the funds (not least because they didn't want to attract attention, in case it complicated matters and stopped him from being able to attend).

    But recently he flew out of Jordan to the UK to take up his place at Oxford.

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  • Some sad news

      11 September 2024
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    This will be a short update. David and I are walking around in shock.

    Saturday New Zealand time we received news from Imad that one of my former World Vision colleagues Ziad who was staying in one of the "safe zones" died as the result of a bomb being dropped on the building he was at. He was one of several people who died as a result of this bombing by the IDF.

    Myself and David are devastated. We have seen photos of the bombing site and a video of the body bags being delivered to a hospital. It is gharsley beyond words. We saw a short clip of his funeral.

    Ziad was a driver for World Vision during my time based at the Jerusalem office. Ziad was such a kind and generous man. Always smiling and joking. I am so, so sad beyond words.

    Imad has been helping us to assist Zaid and his family each month. We will continue to assist Zaid's widow and her family.

    I have attached a photo Imad took of himself and Zaid in May this year (Zaid is on the left).

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    • 12/09/2024 by Eileen

      That is soooo upsetting and I don't have words to express my despair. Will the ongoing horror and inhumanity never end? What does it take to get those responsible (on both sides, but especially the IDF) to see that war and killing is not the answer?

  • Imad Date

      14 August 2024

    Firstly, an apology for the lack of communication recently.

    In one sense not much has changed since our last update for Imad and his family. Bombs get dropped in Gaza and people continue to die, and aid struggles to get into Gaza (not to mention there continues to be no electricity and finding water of any sort is a struggle). He sent a video yesterday of an explosion nearby where he is staying.

    His family have not been displaced again (though this could change at any moment). but the living conditions seem to get worse  His daughter has a skin disease on one leg and his nine year old son had a tooth removed without anesthetic. Shoes are wearing out, underwear is disintegrating

    We continue to support Imad with funds raised off Givealittle and despite these challenges, Imad used the money sent for July to provide 17,000 litres (4991 gallons) of safe drinking water for up to 80 families over a 14 day period. He also provided  fruit and vegetable packs to 40 families, and a child's pack of biscuits and other food treats to 112 children. This month Imad's focusing on trying to source some protein for families.

    I thought I would finish this update with a couple of comments from Imad during recent conversations.

    " I try to make my children believe in peace, love, and coexistence with others. But the (current) atmosphere is not helping at all".

    " I think peace ended for decades because (of) extremists on both sides".

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    • 21/08/2024 by Eileen

      Thanks so much for the update. I am full of admiration for all that Imad is managing to achieve in such difficult circumstances, not to mention that he is still trying to promote a message of peace. He and his family are in our thoughts every time we turn on the news and see yet more devastation. Can you remind me how we can send another donation?

    • 21/08/2024 by Eileen

      Ah, just found the donation link! :-D

  • Imad Update

      25 June 2024
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    Hi Everyone,

    Where to start? I guess the first thing to say is that I am limited to 1500 characters. Which in some ways is good as it focuses my thoughts but in others really frustrating as it limits what I can say.

    The other thing is to acknowledge some of you already got a more detailed update via a (separate) email that I sent out, so apologies if this sounds like a repeat. If you are not getting the email please get in touch if you would like to receive it (other than more space to write, emails make it easier to attach videos, multiple photos, and written reports from Imad himself).

    Since I last updated on here a lot happened:

    - Imad's parents' family home was destroyed (before October this housed Imad's parents and his four brothers and their families). They had lived there since 1995 and is the photo attached to this post.

    -When the 4 hostages were rescued from Nuseirat Refugee camp, Imad did a 10 kilometre (6 mile) round trip walk to collect 10 family members from Nuseirat. They walked past a lot of dead people including women and children.

    - Imad shares so much information about daily life we are thinking how best to present it, it is information you won't find on any media. Anything from prices of food doubling from one week to the next to him and his wife losing over 20 kilos in weight since October, to the fact that since October Israel has not allowed into Gaza:

    Soap

    Shampoo

    Toothpaste

    Women's sanitary products

    Clothes

    Shoes

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  • More on Imad

      29 May 2024
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    Since we updated you last month much has happened.

    Imad and his family are still in Gaza. Not long after I last wrote Imad made the decision to see what would happen (a potential ceasefire, or the IDF moving into Rafah) before going ahead with giving the money to the travel coordinators based in Cairo.

    His decision to wait seemed prescient given how quickly the Israel moved into Rafah and closed the border crossing. The money is with his sister-in-law waiting for the appropriate time to pay the travel co-ordinators.

    In the meantime my husband and I have sent other money directly to Imad and another former World Vision colleague to use as they need (Imad is thinking of how money can be used to benefit the wider community; be it a toilet, water, hygiene kits or food).

    We were pleasantly surprised at the ease with which we could transfer money from our New Zealand bank account to his Palestinian bank account inside Gaza and that he could access the money, and use it.

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  • Update - mid April

      18 April 2024

    We were able to underwrite part of the amount and send it to a family member in Egypt where the border fees are coordinated. The next steps are registering the family's name and waiting for their turn to be put on the list for crossing. Fundraising continues - please share widely.

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