For nearly two years, Faten Abu Shamaleh, a project coordinator with the Wefaq Society for Women and Childcare, an ActionAid partner in Gaza, has endured the unimaginable: relentless bombardment, forced displacement, and starvation — all while continuing to serve her community.
“What do two years of war mean? It feels like judgment day. Every day is torment — and it hasn’t ended.”
Since October 2023, Faten’s family has been uprooted more than ten times. They have fled from Hamad City to Al Amal, from Al Aqsa camp to Rafah, from Rafah to Al Mawasi — and back again.
Since the beginning of the war, Faten and her family have been forcibly displaced more than ten times. Each time, they leave everything behind. She said:
“We build a tent, and then we run. Sometimes we flee under fire. Sometimes we return to find our tent in pieces. Every place we go, we fear it will be the next to be bombed. You live in a constant state of panic.”
During one of the repeated raids on Hamad City, Israeli forces surrounded the neighborhood and detained all the men. She said:
“My husband was one of them. It was horrifying. They took him in front of my children.”
For nearly a year, she became the sole provider for her family, caring for her children while working in unsafe areas and walking miles to find food and water.
“I had to walk to work and leave my children alone in the tent. It was the hardest year of my life. Like a nightmare that never ended.”
Her husband was released only recently, but for Faten and her family, nothing feels normal anymore. They are still displaced and still hungry.
For Faten, every day is a fight to keep her children alive. She shared:
“The only food available to us is bread and dukkah. We barely eat once a day. In just two months, I’ve lost 20 kgs. My children are losing weight, too.”
Faten often gives her own portion to her children.
“I’m exhausted, dizzy, and terrified for their health. I cry daily when I see how thin they’ve become. For the first time in my life, I’ve wished I didn’t have children. It’s unbearable to watch them starve.”
As a humanitarian worker, Faten has seen the suffering of others mirror her own.
“The hardest moment is when we don’t have enough aid to give people. Children come asking for food, barefoot and shivering. We have to tell them we have nothing left.”
She fears Gaza’s children will carry the trauma for life:
“They are afraid. They have seen death, destruction, and hunger. Their wounds are not just physical. They are emotional, and they will take years to heal.”
Despite it all, Faten still holds on to hope.
“It will end. And our children can live with dignity again.”
With a ceasefire now in play, Faten shared with us what this means for her and the people of Gaza:
Faten’s story is one of thousands across Gaza: people who refuse to give up, even as the world looks away.
Even with a precarious ceasefire in place, aid is still scarce. But women like Faten keep moving forward. They are the backbone of ActionAid’s humanitarian effort in Gaza, holding communities together under impossible conditions. We continue to stand with them, delivering emergency food, water, and psychosocial support. But the need is overwhelming. Please donate today to help families like Faten’s.
