Ahmad's story, Gaza
Since October 2023, Caritas Jerusalem staff in Gaza have endured displacement, personal loss, and danger alongside the communities they serve. Despite unimaginable challenges, they remain committed to providing lifesaving support, standing in solidarity with families enduring this conflict.
Ahmad works in Media and Communications for Caritas Jerusalem. Photo: Caritas Jerusalem
A burnt-out car in a destroyed neighbourhood in Gaza. Photo credit: Caritas Jerusalem.
When war broke out in Gaza in October 2023, Caritas Jerusalem staff member Ahmad found his life and work transformed overnight.
Residents living in the northern Gaza Strip – like Ahmad and his family – were ordered to evacuate.
“We felt like this was unlike any other previous wars…we experienced what it was like to leave our homes, our neighbourhoods, our streets, our friends, our family, and the place where we were born and lived our whole lives,” he recalls.
Forced to evacuate under heavy bombardment, Ahmad and his family sought shelter in the city of Khan Younis. Carrying almost nothing – no food, mattresses, or blankets –they sought refuge with friends’ relatives in Khan Younis. Weeks stretched into months, food prices soared and access to essentials grew scarce.
I do not recall having a single day without issues due to the spread of diseases and the lack of medicine and sanitation. It was very difficult everywhere we sought shelter.
Their ordeal worsened on December 12, 2023, when the house they were staying in was bombed at 4:00 am.
Ahmad was buried under rubble, his eardrum ruptured by the blast. Emerging in darkness and chaos, he discovered that his brother had survived with devastating injuries, losing one leg and suffering severe damage to the other.
At the hospital, Ahmad stayed by his brother’s side for two months as he underwent daily surgeries. Conditions were dire: too few doctors, limited equipment, and operations that took longer than three hours would often be postponed or cancelled entirely. Meanwhile, Ahmad’s parents, displaced again from Khan Younis, rented a single-room shelter in Rafah, only for that, too, to be bombed, injuring his uncle and aunt. With no safe options, his family eventually joined Ahmad at the hospital, living in a tent for months.
A Caritas Jerusalem worker amongst what remains of her community in Northern Gaza. Photo credit: Caritas Jerusalem.
A Caritas worker walks through the destruction in Gaza. Photo credit: Caritas Jerusalem.
Even the hospital, once a place of refuge, became unsafe when fighting reached Rafah. The family was displaced again, moving between a camp in Khan Younis, an empty home in Hamad City, and finally Deir al-Balah. At each stage, they lost everything they had managed to gather.
Through these repeated displacements, Ahmad found strength and solace in his work as part of Caritas Jerusalem’s Media and Communications team.
“Thank God we work at Caritas, allowing us to serve people in the most challenging conditions despite the lack of medicine,” he explains. “How beautiful it is to see a mother or child come to you for help and to be able to provide them with support in the most difficult circumstances. This organisation helps us make our voices heard, which has brightened our days.”
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A family receives humanitarian support in Gaza. Photo: Caritas Jerusalem.
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Caritas Jerusalem staff member stocking up medical supplies in a clinic. Photo: Caritas Jerusalem
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