KarunaNews Story

Omran Khamees Al-Astal, 79, has been hosting displaced Palestinians on his land in Gaza since December 2023. “As Palestinians, we must find solutions to support each other, and to provide whatever we can to others,” he says. He has 10 children and about 50 grandchildren. His childrens' homes, as well as his own house in Khan Yunis, were destroyed in the current war. Two months into the displacement crisis, he started providing barrels of fresh water he filled daily in coordination with relief agencies. He allocated land for a communal kitchen where cooked meals are prepared, often using his own produce or with assistance from other local organizations. He allocated one dunam of land for a cemetery after Gaza’s main cemeteries fell under Israeli control. Sheikh Mohammed Ahmed, 35, runs a displacement camp for 85 families on his land, providing shelter, support services and a donor-funded communal kitchen to provide cooked meals. He operates 15 wells, powered by his solar energy system, to supply water to thousands of displaced people. Sheikh Ahmed himself has also been displaced, along with his wife and three children, since their home in Khan Yunis was destroyed by Israeli air strikes.