Connecting Gaza: New Brunswickers are Among a Network Supporting Families Amid Genocide

Photojournalist Rizek Abdel Jawad was trying to buy a tent in his hometown of Gaza City—shortly before he was forced to flee due to the ongoing Israeli ground invasion—when he heard an explosion.

“I heard the sound of bombing by Israeli planes near the popular market,” he told the NB Media Co-op in a WhatsApp message. Though terrified, he went to the site of the blast. The Bank of Palestine had been struck by a missile, he said.

His video footage from the scene, posted on social media, shows at least one building reduced to rubble and neighbouring structures badly damaged. A representative of the Bank of Palestine confirmed in a message to the NB Media Co-op that its main branch had been destroyed.

Men and young boys can be seen leaving the site, their arms filled with debris. Jawad explained that when homes and apartments are targeted, the Israeli military sometimes gives just 10 minutes’ notice to evacuate. Families flee with almost nothing, then return later to recover whatever they can, including debris to use as firewood.

“The price of a kilo of wood in the Gaza Strip today has reached three dollars per kilogram,” he said.

It is only one example of the misery endured by those at the brunt of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza—a military campaign widely condemned as a genocide and now stretching into its second year. Jawad said the devastation has left Gaza “uninhabitable.”

An accomplished photojournalist, Jawad’s work has appeared in the Associated Press and China’s Xinhua news service. He continues to bear witness to the destruction while remaining in contact with allies abroad, including supporters in New Brunswick.

“I have a large group of friends from Canada. They have been providing support since the war started here. Moral support is very important in the circumstances we are in,” he said, adding that material aid is also critical because of soaring costs and Israel’s blockade on humanitarian shipments.

In Fredericton, residents Rebecca Burns and Reena Cabanilla are part of Connecting Gaza, which calls itself “a global network of compassionate individuals united by one urgent goal: supporting Palestinian families in Gaza as they endure genocide.”

"I definitely feel rage and anger that our leaders are not doing enough to stop this," Cabanilla said through tears in an interview with the NB Media Co-op.

"I feel the world has failed Palestinians," Burns added. "What we're doing is a tiny drop, but I do think it is a form of resistance because it's humanizing those who have been dehumanized for so long."

Connecting Gaza currently supports 27 families in the Strip, sending material aid while also offering friendship. Members maintain contact through WhatsApp, helping break the isolation of life under military occupation, famine, and daily bombardments.

The initiative was founded by David Mivasair, a retired rabbi in Hamilton, Ont., who said it has raised more than $500,000 so far.

“Every penny we get goes to people in Gaza,” he said. “And for those who can’t donate, they can still bring their love for a fellow human who just needs somebody to listen and pay attention while they’re going through such suffering.”

Mivasair draws parallels between the Holocaust and the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. “After concentration camps were liberated, sometimes they would go into the barracks and find scrawled on the wall: ‘If only someone knew.’”

Asked about backlash, he acknowledged losing relationships and even receiving a visit from police. But he stressed that personal consequences pale in comparison to the suffering in Gaza.

This video features interviews with Burns, Cabanilla, and Mivasair, along with photos and videos provided by Jawad. More of his photojournalism can be found online.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/rizek_eldremle
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rezek.eldremle

To support Connecting Gaza, visit www.connectinggaza.org/donate

David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Stations and Users (CACTUS).