Special Appeal: Hot Meals for Starving Palestinian Kids
I rarely, if ever, make donation requests here, but the intentionally imposed and ongoing famine in Gaza that is affecting defenseless civilians, mostly women and children, requires exceptional action.
I have been supporting Gaza Soup Kitchen since it was founded last year by brothers Hani and Mahmoud Almadhoun. With the purchase of three large pots and scavenged firewood from the bombed-out ruins around him, Mahmoud and a few helpers began cooking soup for their neighbors. Hani, whose day job is as Senior Director of Philanthropy for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Washington, DC, has spent much of his time outside of work raising funds to buy the food that the soup kitchen prepares—as well as reminding the world on Facebook and Instagram that the people of Palestine are still standing despite the horrific efforts of the Israeli government to erase them.
Last November Mahmoud was assinated by an Israeli drone. Without missing a beat, Hani and his extended family in Gaza picked up Mahmoud's fallen banner, dedicating themselves to feeding the Palestinian people, providing food, water and basic medical support while bombs literally fall around them and the deadly drones buzz overhead. Hani sent out this appeal today:
Hi friends,
If you are new here, welcome! My name is Hani, co-founder of the Gaza Soup Kitchen. For those regulars, thank you ✊
Right now we have seven kitchens running in and around Gaza City, five water trucks delivering fresh water every morning, and our health clinic is still seeing patients. Sadly, our classroom was bombed —but we’ve pivoted to something bigger:
- Delivered 4,250 food parcels so far
- Another 2,550 parcels ready to go
- In the middle area, we delivered 600 parcels and opened a new kitchen. Each food parcel equals 40–60 meals. It’s not just about helping one family—it feeds whole networks of relatives, neighbors, and displaced people. In doing this, we’re also showing the world (and the bad actors watching us) that you can give away a lot of food in Gaza without harming Palestinians. Our signage makes that crystal clear.
- We keep showing up for hospitals with meals
One moving moment: we’ve been operating from inside an Orthodox and Catholic church (اتحاد الكنائس ). Families shelter there, and they benefit from the food too. Our young team—many who had never met a Christian before—are learning about unity and friendship in real time. Feeding people from a church feels like something Jesus himself would have blessed.
We hear the drones above us, and we know they don’t like what we’re doing. But we’ll keep feeding as long as we’re allowed. Our system works: families sign up on a link , we close it when full, assemble the food, and text pickup times. No chaos, no exploitation—just neighbors helping neighbors. Each distribution serves 500–1,000 people with dignity.
You give us confidence , even as we worry for our team’s safety every single day. I am tired of asking for prayers, but somehow it’s still comforting to do so. Thank you for being with us. Together, we are saving lives, it's not a slogan…it's our daily reality.
If you are so inclined, make a donation at their GoFundMe site. Thank you.