Irish-Palestinian sisters aim to raise €100k in their 'Walk for Gaza' fundraiser

Sara and Emma Abu Selmia, who both live in Co Waterford, launched their "Sara and Emma’s Walk for Gaza" GoFundMe on January 1.

The Irish-Palestinian sisters have pledged to walk or run 320km this month to raise money for their six uncles and two aunts who are currently living in Gaza. 

Sara and Emma said they will walk 40km for each of their eight aunts and uncles and their families, representing the distance that each family had to travel by foot when they were displaced from their homes in Northern Gaza. 

They have set a target of €100,000, raising more than €36,000 at the time of writing. 

"The money that we raise will go directly to our family, many of those who work in hospitals in Gaza. The money raised will be distributed to those in greatest need to try and rebuild their lives after the war," Sara and Emma said on their GoFundMe. 

The sisters explained that their father moved to Ireland in 1984 to complete his college studies and met their mother during his time in Ireland. 

Their father's six brothers and two sisters remained in Gaza and have now been displaced from their homes following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War in October last year.

The eight families have moved from Northern Gaza to Rafah in the Southern Gaza Strip, with some of them living in tents and struggling to find water and food. 

Sara and Emma said their relatives' homes have been destroyed during the war along with most of their belongings. 

"When the war is over they have nowhere to go home to," the sisters said in a post on GoFundMe. 

The sisters are chronicling their efforts on their joint Instagram page @sara_and_emmas_walk_for_gaza.

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The sisters told the Irish Mirror that they decided to launch the fundraiser as they felt "helpless" looking on from Ireland as their family members struggled during the war. 

"By starting this fundraiser we have been able to both bring awareness of the struggles that our family and thousands of others are facing as well as raising much-needed funds to provide basic day-to-day needs like food and water for them," Sara and Emma told the Irish Mirror. 

"We are blown away by the support and kind messages we have received from people all over the country and we appreciate every single donation that people have given to our GoFundMe."