Campaign Story

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Update August 28, 2025: Ahmed and his family have been forced to flee the home he rebuilt for Nada and his father Mohamad as Gaza City comes under relentless attack in the latest genocidal assault.

Thanks to your support, they survived a terrifying escape and were able to secure a tent in a displacement camp.

This fundraiser is now about survival — food, water, medicine, and safety. Please keep standing with Ahmed and Nada – they need you now more than ever.

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My name is Ahmed Jahjooh, a 23-year-old football player from Gaza City. I’m reaching out because I need your help to survive. Since October 7, I have lost everything. Now the war has returned and we live in terror each day with constant bombings and displacement.

I miss my old life. I miss my family. The war has taken them from me.

First, my home and father’s workplace were destroyed. Then, the worst happened—my mom, one of my brothers, and his wife and children were killed in an airstrike.

I have felt so alone. My wife Nada and I had our joyous engagement party on September 29, 2023. Then this terrible war began, and her family fled south – not knowing we would be separated for over a year.

Finally, during the too-short ceasefire, we were reunited. Even when the ceasefire ended, we managed to have a beautiful wedding with your support.

But it is our destiny that joy is mixed with pain. Now we have been displaced. This fundraiser is no longer about rebuilding walls or getting married. It is about survival.

Every dollar helps us buy food, clean water, and medicine, and keep a fragile tent over our heads.

Your contribution, no matter the size, will help us survive. Monthly gifts are especially appreciated.

Football is my passion—I played as a professional goalie for Al-Hilal Football Club before the war.

As a teenager, I visited Ireland with Gaza Action Ireland, dreaming of a future when I can play freely. Here I am with my teammates and the president of Ireland.

Those dreams are on hold as I focus on surviving, but I hope to play more again as we rebuild. Even during bombings, my friends and I play football to distract ourselves.

My wife Nada dreams of returning to her graphic design and multimedia studies—her university was destroyed in the war, but there is an online program for students to complete their degrees. She resumed her studies recently but now we are displaced again.

Verified and Supported:

My Jewish-Irish-American friend Mikhaela Reid is managing the funds and providing updates. The Pal Collective mutual aid network, initiated by comedian Sammy Obeid, has verified this fundraiser, ensuring transparency and trust.

A Heartfelt Request:

Your kindness and solidarity mean everything. Please help us rise from the rubble. Please keep my family in your prayers.

With love and gratitude,

Ahmed Jahjooh

P.S. You can follow my updates regularly on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/a7med__jahjooh/

Dear beloved friends of Ahmed,

I have both terrible and grateful news to share. The sad news is that Ahmed and his family have had to abandon the home they worked so hard to rebuild, as the Israeli military continues its genocidal campaign on Gaza City. The home Ahmed was raised in by his beloved mother who was martyred last year – the home he rebuilt brick by brick for his bride and his dad with your support.

The grateful news is that — because of you, Ahmed’s donors — they were able to escape and survive. Your support has brought hope and solidarity amidst so much pain.

Ahmed, his wife Nada, his father Mohamad, his brother Wael, and Wael’s children endured a nightmare evacuation through four expensive car transfers under bombardment. His father was injured during the escape. At last, with your support, they were able to reach a displacement camp and secure a precious tent.

Ahmed wanted me to share this message with you:

“Thank you my family, you lighten my load… because of you, we were able to get a tent.”

But the reality is still harsh. Ahmed writes:

“Overnight, I became displaced and homeless. Anyone who knows the word ‘displaced’ knows full well that it means we have no home or mattress to cover us. There is no privacy or safety, and the most basic elements of life and dignity are lost. We are living days we have never experienced before, as death draws ever closer.”

This fundraiser is no longer about rebuilding walls. It is about survival — food, clean water, medicine, and safety in the midst of displacement.

Please continue to stand with Ahmed and Nada in this dark chapter. Every donation, every share, helps them endure.

With sorrow — and hope,

Mikhaela

My beautiful friends, thank you as always for your support. Please always think of us – it is your donations that keep us from the death traps. Recently, as donations slowed, I went with my brother and my nephews to the death traps, hoping to get flour. Instead, we were bombed and shot at by tanks. My best friend Osama lost one of his eyes, and he is in the hospital.

I saw death in my eyes. I will not go back, I would rather die from starvation than from the tank. Lately, it is like the end of days. One of the windows in our bedroom shattered and fell in on me and my beautiful wife, Nada, though luckily we are OK. Please continue to stand with us, my dear friends. May we survive this terrible terrible war. With love, Ahmed Jahjooh

Friends, thanks so much to those of you who were able to give to help Ahmed and Nada and their families have a beautiful wedding, a celebration of love and family, and community even amidst the terrible war in Gaza. Above are a few favorite photos – — Ahmed and Nada’s younger brother Qusay baking the bread for Nada’s henna party – no bakeries are open, so food is all DIY.

— Ahmed and his dad lifted up by friends and family to dance at the men’s party the day before the wedding.

— Ahmed’s friends are carrying him to the wedding with music playing (zaffa!)

— Ahmed and Nada on the way to Ahmed’s house for the wedding, with relatives and friends keeping her dress out of the rubble

— Ahmed and Nada in their home that Ahmed and his dad have rebuilt from the rubble with help from your solidarity and love. On a more somber note, since the wedding, both Ahmed and Nada and their families have been quite ill much of the time, as food is running out in Gaza due to the total blockade that is now in its third month. They eat at most one meal per day, and flour has risen to $150 per bag, and now as much as $600 or $700 per bag.

And in the last week alone, they have had three close calls with death – from bombings and shootings by armed mercenaries. As Ahmed says “A new life was written for us.”

They need our help to pay –

— $600 a week in food costs (any food at all is a luxury item right now). — $1,500 in remaining wedding costs (they had to borrow to make the deadline, and everything cost 5-10X what it normally would) — $2,000 in home repair costs (again, they have already made these repairs – these are the remaining payments they owe). Thank you, as always, for your incredible solidarity and support. Please don’t stop talking about Palestine and sharing this fundraiser. If you pray, please keep Ahmed, Nada, and Ahmed’s dad, Mohammed, in your prayers. with love,

Mikhaela

P.S. One more happy update – Ahmed had the chance to play a few football games for the first time since his wedding. And even with so few calories in his system, our favorite goalie didn’t let the opposing team score a single goal – a clean sheet!

Tricia Flukey