My name is Ghada Hammad. I grew up in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, and I studied chemistry before becoming a public health worker. I was 27 when the Israeli blockade began, and I’m 42 now. I’ve lived through all the wars between Hamas and Israel.
Khan Younis is my home. I live here now with my husband, Islam, a teacher, and our five children. The first time I tried to leave Gaza after the siege started was 2013, because we were having fertility problems. The restrictions on movement were not as tough then, and I remember the process being quite smooth, which is part of the reason I am shocked at how difficult it is now for me to get cancer treatment.
I was referred to an IVF clinic in Nablus in the West Bank and ended up having six babies, although one of them died. Our quintuplets are now nine, and our eldest daughter is 13. As you might imagine, our family life is pretty busy.
