Local support for Palestinians heartening for Burlington, Ont., siblings with family in Gaza

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.

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.

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 figuring out how to get money to people in Gaza who could then purchase supplies for others. 

That work has become considerably harder as infrastructure including communications and banking have been destroyed, she said, and now relies on connecting with people on the ground who already have cash. It's also become harder for people to buy supplies even if they have money, she said. 

The siblings say that although they would love to help their family members leave the region, Canada's program to get Palestinian relatives of Canadians out of the Gaza strip has been too restrictive and financially onerous, they said. 

Elewa's family members in Gaza are split between the north and the south, with about half in Rafah. Last week, witnesses reported seeing tanks in Rafah's centre, after an Israeli strike hit a tent encampment in the region, which Israeli officials had advised civilians to move to for safety. A fire started in the camp as a result and at least 45 died, according to Palestinian officials.

Elewa and her brother say some of their family members are staying near where the fire occurred, and that in such a densely populated area, they can hear and feel explosions. 

They said they spoke with their uncle's wife this past week, after nearly 20 days without contact. She had to walk a long way to be able to communicate, Elewa said. 

"Moving in Rafah right now is so scary for people."

When they hear from family, they hear "just how difficult living has become," she said. Her uncle's wife is taking care of six kids, she said, trying to keep them safe and educate them while they aren't in school. One child has malaria, and another has an undiagnosed illness, she added.