Please help me get my family to safety out of Gaza.
That's the desperate plea from a Palestinian woman studying in York as the war between Israel and Hamas rages on.
Nahed Ahmed says her entire family - her parents Kamal and Zainab, her younger sister Mai, and her three adopted children Ahmed, Rahaf, and Nirmeen - are all living in a tent in Rafah after their home in Khan Younis was destroyed by bombs.
Her father Kamal is 'desperately sick', she says - and there is no clean water or electricity, and very little food, particularly vegetables. "Even if they find some food, it is so expensive," she said.
Nahed says the family have been told they will need to pay $10,000 each just to get across the border to safety in Egypt - a phenomenon that has been widely reported on in the British and international media.
She said: "I am so worried. My father is so sick, and they cannot find a doctor to help him - all the medical staff have been killed or taken as hostages."
READ MORE: Plea for help for family of York-born Yousef, trapped in a tent in Gaza
Communication with her family is difficult, but she is occasionally able to get in contact by What's App, she said. "I tried to speak to my father, but he couldn't speak. My mother is so worried; she said I might never ever be able to see him again. This is really killing me."
Nahed, an academic who taught business studies at the University of Gaza for 12 years, came to York St John University in 2019 to do a Ph.D in 'Female Entrepreneurship and Social Capital in the Gaza Strip'. It has taken longer than expected because of Covid.
Nahed said her family had a nice home in Khan Younis, where her parents, aged 72 and 66, lived with her younger sister Mai, a chemistry and maths teacher, and the three children Nahed adopted 15 years ago.
But the family home was bombed and 'completely destroyed' after the conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out.
In a GoFundMe page Nahed has set up in a desperate attempt to raise money to get her family out of Gaza, she says: "Imagine a home that once echoed with laughter and love, now a silent testament to devastation.
"This is the reality for my beloved parents, my vibrant younger sister Mai, and my three beautiful adopted children, Ahmed, Rahaf, and Nirmeen.
"Their world, once filled with the comfort of our family home, is now shattered, leaving them to battle for necessities – a morsel of food, a sip of clean water, and the bare minimum of healthcare in a tent in Rafah."
Nahed says the University of Gaza, where her sister was doing a masters degree, has been destroyed.
So has Al-Aqsa University, where her adopted son Ahmed, 19, had just begun an undergraduate course in IT.
Her daughter Nirmeen's school has also been destroyed.
"Its destruction is a profound loss, shattering her safe space and halting her personal development," Nahed says on her GoFundMe page. "This tragedy underscores the severe impact of conflict on young, innocent lives like Nirmeen's."
Nahed is hoping to raise £70,000 to get her family out of Gaza.
But she said: "Any form of support, including sharing our story, is immensely appreciated.
"It contributes not only to my family's well-being but also to the broader pursuit of peace and safety in Palestine."
York St John University says it has extended support to all its students affected by the conflict in Gaza.
"We are currently providing Nahed with wellbeing, academic and financial support," a spokesperson said.
You can donate to Nahed's GoFundMe page here
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