For eight months, Burlington, Ont., resident Sabrina Elewa and her brother Salim have been working to send aid to their family in Gaza. But as the humanitarian crisis deepens, the siblings say doing so has become more and more challenging.
"If any of our families or anybody we know were to get injured, we have no way of helping them out or figuring out where they can go or where to get treated," said Elewa. She's heard some people in Gaza say "it's better to get bombed and die" than be injured, "because you have no way of surviving that after," she said. With about 130 family members in Gaza, the siblings say they're frustrated the international community hasn't done more to stop Israel's bombardment, which began after a Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct.
7, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials. Since, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza's health ministry. Freeland says Canada welcomes Gaza ceasefire proposal, reiterates calls around hostages, aid However, Elewa and her brother say they're heartened by support they're hearing for Palestinians locally, including the protests and encampments led by students on university campuses.
Harder for people in Gaza to buy supplies, receive aid In November, an airstrike destroyed much of a street several members of their family lived on, Elewa previously told CBC . That prompted her family and friends to start an informal aid network, spending up to 10 hours on the phone each day figuri.
