Hello, World,

We are the Fayez Qeshta family.

We live in the city of Gaza

I am Mais, a software engineer. After five years of study, hard work, and perseverance, I graduated from university with honors and distinction. I earned my first job as a teaching assistant at the university.

I looked at life with determination and ambition, and I had many plans after graduation to support my family. I was very happy because, at last, I would reap the rewards of my hard work and that of my family. I would finally help them bear the burden of my remaining siblings' education. However, unfortunately, this happiness was stolen by the brutal war.

On the morning of October 7, 2023, I lost my job, and I lost my laptop, which is the most valuable thing I own as a software engineer. I still can't believe that for 2 yearsI haven't been able to use my laptop because I lost it.

Unfortunately, my workplace was completely destroyed and leveled by the Israeli occupation forces, and it has turned to ash, leaving us with nothing but memories.

In addition, the place where I was training to secure a job at a prestigious company was also completely destroyed. It is important to note that obtaining such a training opportunity requires a lot of effort, skill, and hard work. Unfortunately, the training center was destroyed, and the opportunity vanished because of the war.

The occupation has destroyed my professional future and shattered my dreams.

My older brother, Amjad, is an accountant and a financial manager. He lost the job he worked for years to achieve.

Amjad used to own a travel and tourism office, but unfortunately, it was completely destroyed and burned by the occupation forces.

The consequences of this brutal war did not stop there. Because of it, the future of my brother’s and sister’s university education became uncertain and unknown.

My brother, Mohamed, is a software engineering student in his final year of university. The occupation destroyed his dreams, his future, and his university. His professors were killed, and his future became uncertain.

My sister, Renad, is a graphic design student and a creative artist. The fate of her education ended, and her future and dreams were destroyed.

Renad never stopped developing her skills in drawing, aspiring to become a famous artist and to use her talent in her university studies to become a creative designer. Unfortunately, at the start of the war, she lost her drawing tools and her laptop.

My younger brother, Fawzi, has stopped his education because his school became a shelter for displaced people.

This brutal war has stolen everything we own and our dearest memories. It has taken our loved ones, friends, relatives, and homes.

Our only hope now is to survive the war and continue our studies abroad, after the universities and schools in Gaza were destroyed, and we lost an entire academic year.

I appeal to your consciences and humanity to save my family from certain death.

We live every moment of our lives in fear, terror, and anticipation of an unknown fate.

The war machine in Gaza does not differentiate between humans, trees, animals, or stones; everyone is a target.

We have been living the worst days of our lives for the past eight months, as though we are in ancient times. Water, air, electricity, food, medicine, security, peace, and humanity are all lost.

In addition, my father suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, and due to the blockade, we cannot find the appropriate medicine for him. My mother suffers from severe neck pain that doctors have been unable to diagnose or treat because of the war and the overwhelming number of casualties and martyrs.

Our only source of income has stopped working for the past two years, and there are no alternatives except to endure hunger and pain.

My siblings are still young, including graduates, university students, and those whose future has become uncertain, as there is no education or institutions; everything has been destroyed.

This war has lasted too long, and our mental health and lives are in constant danger. We have reached a point where there is no longer any hope for us here in Gaza. We lost our first home in 2004, and now, for the second time, our home has been destroyed. We are just waiting for death. Even if a ceasefire is reached, the destruction in Gaza cannot be repaired quickly.