HANIN: help a grieving mom & kids from Gaza survive & heal

Product Description

United States

Supporters

July 15 2025: Hello, beautiful people. My name is Hanin Salem, and I am a 34-year-old mother from the Gaza Strip grieving the loss of two of my sweet daughters. I am now in Egypt for medical evacuation with my two surviving children. We have no income due to the war, but with your support and solidarity, we can heal, survive, and rebuild.

I am reaching out in love and desperation for your help because my son Mohamad urgently needs surgery to save his sight, and we need food to live. We must raise $1725 more between now and July 20 to schedule his surgery.

The funds you have already given so generously allowed us to get food, clothing, and shelter in Gaza, and more recently, medical care, food, and dental surgeries here in Egypt.

Before the war, we had a beautiful home and a loving family: my daughters, Jana, Rana, and Haya, and my son, Mohamad. My husband, Moamen, worked as a paramedic. I loved making special meals and welcoming friends. Our children were my joy and my reason to live. The war took nearly everything from me, including two of my daughters, my mother, and my brother.

Our nightmare began in November 2023. An airstrike destroyed our home, and just days later, my baby Haya was killed. She was only nine months old—a beautiful baby girl born after seven years of infertility treatment. She died while her sister Rana, 13, was holding her in her arms. We were trapped under rubble, and when we escaped, Rana was still carrying her sister, not realizing she was gone. Rana has been deeply traumatized ever since.

A month later, my oldest daughter, Jana, age 14, was killed in another airstrike. She was smart, ambitious, and wanted to be a doctor. Her life—and her dreams—were stolen. I think of my Haya and Jana every day. They are always in my heart:

In that same bombing, my 10-year-old son Mohamad was severely injured. He lost sight in his left eye, which remains painful and infected. His right eye is also at risk. Without urgent surgery, his blindness may become permanent. He also suffers from an enlarged kidney and needs nutritious food and further care.

Over the next few months, I also lost my mother, my brother, his wife, and their two children in another airstrike. I have lost my home, my family, and my happiness.

We lived for months in a freezing, flooded tent in southern Gaza, enduring constant hunger, fear, and illness. There was no clean water or medicine. Mohamad’s condition worsened. Both children suffered painful dental trauma from malnutrition. I have lost many teeth myself. We were cold, terrified, and heartbroken.

We lived for months in a freezing, flooded tent in southern Gaza, with no clean water or medicine. Mohamad’s condition worsened. Both children suffered dental trauma from malnutrition, and I lost many teeth myself. We were cold, hungry, and heartbroken.

Eventually, we were approved for medical evacuation to Egypt. We now live in a donated apartment, which we share with another displaced Palestinian mother and her two sweet children, whom we are caring for. Though we are safe from bombs, our struggles continue. We must pay for food, medicine, and all essentials—but we have no way to earn income.

Hospitals here offered little real care – they were more like prisons than medical facilities. Mohamad spent months and was moved to three different hospitals, but received only occasional tests. They did not perform any surgery. Now we must pay for treatment ourselves.

I also need urgent dental surgery for missing and rotting teeth that cause constant agonizing pain. Rana has fractured teeth and also needs care.

My children have been denied education for nearly two years. They both loved school. We need a used tablet with cellular data so they can resume their studies. Rana is a talented artist who hopes to express her grief and dreams through painting. She hopes to eventually sell her art to help support us.

And a part of our family is still missing.

My beloved husband, Moamen, was not allowed to evacuate with us. He remains trapped in Gaza—injured, starving, and caring for the widows and children of his martyred brothers. Our children miss him terribly. We hope one day he can join us here, until we can safely return to our beloved Gaza.

No donation is too small. Monthly support is especially meaningful. Please help us raise the next $2,100 we need by July 20. That includes:

$28 NUTRITION: Groceries for 2 days

$50 DOCTOR VISITS & TRANSPORT: Weekly visits

$100 MEDICATION: Eye treatments per month

$200 FOOD FOR SURVIVAL in Gaza for two days: Food for my husband and the nieces and nephews he is caring for in Gaza – his brothers were killed and now he feeds and shelters their children and widows

$3,500 EYE SURGERY: To relieve Mohamad’s pain and stop infection ($1,775 raised, $1725 to go)

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your compassion, your donations, and your prayers. Your help is our hope. No mother should have to bury her children. Your kindness brings warmth and hope to our lives. You have helped carry us through the most painful time I’ve ever known.

This surgery is not just medical—it’s a chance for Mohamad to be free from pain and infection. Your support will also give Rana the strength to grow, create, and keep dreaming after losing so much.

With your help, I can restore hope to my children. I pray I’ll soon share a photo of Mohamad smiling again after his surgery. Until then, know that your love has left a mark on our hearts forever.

With love and gratitude, Hanin Salem

https://www.instagram.com/haneenmumen

Verified and supported

This campaign is verified and supported by my dear friend, who has become a sister to me – Mikhaela Reid, a Jewish-American artist, activist, and mother of two based in Brooklyn, New York. We became friends through the Pal Collective, a mutual aid network that supports families in Palestine and uses a careful vetting process, including verifying IDs, video calls, and more. She transfers funds to me, communicates with me every day, and provides updates on my situation.

Hello friends, I hope you are well. I have been away for a while due to the circumstances we are suffering from now — but today I must reach out again. My son Mohamad is finally scheduled for an eye removal and artificial eye implant surgery in five days — this Sunday, July 20. We are in desperate need of your support to make this possible.

This has been a very difficult decision and a heavy fate, but we must do it — for the sake of his future, his dignity, and his healing.

We have raised $1,400, but we still need $2,100 more to pay for the full two part surgery. (I mentioned last time that we had raised $2,000 – some of it had to be used for emergency dental surgery). I am alone here in Egypt, bearing all the costs and fighting for my children, because they deserve to live with freedom and dignity.

Despite my loneliness and grief, I think always of my husband Moamen, who remains trapped in Gaza under bombardment and hunger — unable to be with his only son during this painful time. He risks death to go to the “aid” sites find flour for the children of his brothers who have been imprisoned or martyred. He is caring for two women and eight children in our destroyed home and they are starving. We are all fighting to survive. I need to increase my fundraising as well to help.

We are ashamed to ask again, but I believe in your kind hearts and your generosity. Please pray for Mohamad. Please help us if you can. Please share with anyone you think may be able to support.

I am praying for a miracle — that someone will read this and help us reach this goal in time.

With gratitude and hope,

Your sister, Hanin

P.S. if you have any prayers or messages for Mohamad before his surgery please share them with me here or on Instagram. He will be recovering and unable to do much for over a month:

https://www.instagram.com/haneenmumen

Dear beautiful people, I would like to thank you for your support and care for my family. Without your generosity and kindness, I would not have been able to meet my children’s needs during this period. You are very kind; I feel strong thanks to you.

Secondly, I would like to inform you that I was able to obtain an apartment for free, but there are many needs, utilities, and monthly obligations, especially since I support another Palestinian family consisting of a woman and her two children, who were also medically evacuated and live with us. I need to raise at least $6,000 more by July 31 to meet these needs and schedule Mohamad’s surgery – an amount that will be impossible without your kind help, as we have no income.

Unfortunately, while we spent many months in hospitals, it was more like a prison than a medical facility. They did not provide Mohamad with the appropriate treatment or with any surgeries, and now the journey of treatments and operations will begin, but at our personal expense.

So I ask you to please help me with these costs so that my beautiful child can receive the appropriate treatment for his eye. I also ask if you can please pray for his speedy recovery.

We also suffer from toothache and a lot of decay due to the malnutrition that we faced during the siege, and I need dental implants and prostheses, which are very expensive .

Thirdly, Mohamad and Rana need a used tablet they can share to resume their lessons. Rana is an artist who loves drawing, and she needs many tools. I hope you will help her achieve her dream and develop herself. She also needs a desk—the apartment doesn’t have much furniture, so as you can see, she sits on the ground (pictured).

Finally, I would like to thank you very much again for your generosity and help. I hope that peace, love, and mercy will prevail in the world and that no mother in the world will have to experience the pain, loss, and suffering that we are facing.

With your help, I can restore hope to my children. I pray I’ll soon share a photo of Mohamad smiling again after his surgery. Until then, know that your love has left a mark on our hearts forever.

With love and gratitude, Hanin Salem

https://www.instagram.com/haneenmumen

P.S. The funds you have already given so generously allowed us to get food, clothing, and shelter when we were starving in a displacement camp in Gaza, and more recently, have supported our medical care, food, and dental surgeries here in Egypt. They have also helped my husband, Moamen, in Gaza, who is suffering from malnutrition due to the blockade, and caring for the widows and children of his martyred brothers.

No donation is too small. Monthly support is especially meaningful. Please share our story and help us raise the money we need by July 31.

$28 NUTRITION: Groceries for 2 days

$50 DOCTOR VISITS & TRANSPORT: Weekly visits

$100 MEDICATION: Eye treatments per month

$250 EDUCATION: Tablet for school and art

$665 DENTAL SURGERY: Teeth destroyed by malnutrition (each – total of $2,000)

$6,000 EYE SURGERY: To relieve Mohamad’s infections and pain and save his sight. ( we have $2,000 so far – $4,000 to go!)

When the ceasefire began, Hanin and her two surviving children, Rana and Mohammed, were allowed to evacuate to Egypt for Mohammed’s medical treatment. They are currently at a hospital in Cairo so doctors can assess Mohammed’s eye injury. The injury is severe; Mohammed has lost sight in that eye, is constantly in pain, and can’t run around and play.

The doctors have offered two treatment options: removing Mohammed’s injured eye, which would be fully paid for, or a surgery to attempt to restore sight to his injured eye, which Hanin would have to cover personally. Hanin is desperately praying for a miracle so she can give her son a chance to restore his vision.

$6,000 for the surgery to attempt to restore Mohammed’s vision.

$3,500 for living expenses in Cairo during Mohammed’s recovery. This won’t cover the entire length of his recovery, but will get them started.

$500 for toys, art supplies, and outings for the kids, so they can have some joy after years of war. They hope to see the pyramids!

If they stay in Egypt, Hanin hopes to enroll the kids in school there, since they have missed two years of schooling due to the war. We don’t know yet how much that would cost, but if she’s able to enroll the kids we hope to help with tuition.

Your donations will be an answer to Hanin’s prayers, and will change her family’s lives. We will keep you updated on our fundraiser’s progress and on Mohammed’s treatment. Please also keep Hanin, Rana, Mohammed, and their whole family in your prayers, it means so much to Hanin.

Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your wonderful support of my family. Your kindness has brought warmth and joy to our lives and served as a beacon of light in the midst of our suffering.

Your support is a testament to your integrity, generosity, and kindness. With your help, a light of hope shines on my son Mohammed. This surgery is not just a medical procedure; it is an opportunity for him to reclaim a part of his world. This operation will relieve the inflammation and pain he suffers from and, God willing, restore some of his sight, allowing him to see the beauty of life once again.

Your support will give Rana the strength to keep going, achieve her dreams, and live the life she deserves after her suffering, the loss of her two beloved sisters, and the loss of two years of her educational journey.

With your support, I will restore hope to my children.

I eagerly await the day when I can share a photo of my precious son recovering and smiling after his surgery. Until then, please know that your kindness has left an indelible mark on our hearts, and we are blessed to have you by our side.

Your sister Hanin https://www.instagram.com/haneenmumen

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