Supporting Journalists to Return, Rebuild, or Remain - Surviving Gaza's Destruction

This campaign began as evacuation and survival. Even after the declared ceasefire, Gaza remains in ruins. Entire neighborhoods are flattened, electricity and water systems are destroyed, and journalists who survived the bombardment are now facing the collapse of daily life.

Some are beginning the journey back home, navigating streets buried in rubble, while others must remain where they are, living in tents or damaged structures with no power, scarce clean water, and no restrooms (families build makeshift restrooms).

Winter is approaching, bringing cold nights, flooding, and disease. Tents are wearing out, and people are struggling to find warmth and dry shelter.

From evacuation to return and stabilization — this campaign now supports journalists through every phase of survival: returning where possible, stabilizing where they are, and continuing to report Gaza’s story to the world.

Watch the video message from journalist, Ashraf Ali, who received funds during the first distribution. His words capture both the desperation and the gratitude of those surviving displacement while continuing to bear witness.

Key needs include:

Transportation: Evacuation to safer areas can cost $300–$600 depending on distance, fuel, and availability of carts or vehicles. When transport is unavailable, families are forced to walk.
Shelter: Families may rent land (about $500 per month) to place a ready-made tent (~$1,000) or to build a makeshift tent (shawadir) from wood, plastic, or other salvaged materials. In some cases, families rent small units ($300–$2,000 per month), depending on availability and size.
Basic Necessities: Food staples such as rice, flour, lentils, canned goods, bottled water, and baby formula; Simple restroom construction for displaced families (~$300); Solar panels with battery storage (~$5,000) to provide power, pump water, and charge phones. Such systems can sustain up to 10 families. Without them, families must rely on costly truck deliveries of water in buckets.

Our request:

Spread the word! Share our post and campaign link: gazafund.dropsitenews.com. Supporting vetted journalists through this fundraising effort is not only humanitarian—it is essential to preserving the record of genocide.

For major gift inquiries, please contact Casey Quirke at casey@dropsitenews.com.

About the Gaza Journalist Fund

*Update* Drop Site News and Unmute Humanity launched the Gaza Journalist Fund with an initial goal of $150,000 to support 29 Gaza journalists. With your solidarity, we surpassed that goal and raised over $300,000. This allowed us to extend support to 63 journalists — providing evacuation and survival assistance including food, shelter, medical needs, and safe passage.'

As soon as Phase 1 went public, the need grew. Through our communication with journalists, colleagues referring colleagues, and the community itself referring journalists in need, a waitlist quickly formed.

Conditions remain severe—destroyed homes, no grid power, scarce clean water, no restrooms, and winter driving up costs. Some can return; many must remain where they are and stabilize. Families carry heavy water jugs, cook on scrap-metal stoves, and tie plastic sheeting and rope to keep out rain. We’re funding return where possible and stability where needed—so journalists can survive and keep reporting. Help us meet our new goal and support the needs of a total of 78 Gaza journalists.

Phase 2 is not optional. It is a lifeline.

How journalists are identified:

Journalists are identified and vetted by Unmute Humanity through a multi-layer process: Direct participation: Journalists who have appeared on Unmute Humanity’s Voices of Palestine webcast or weekly TikTok Lives, or individuals with whom Unmute Humanity maintains ongoing direct communication. Unmute Humanity receives introductions by vetted colleagues already within the network, confirmed through direct outreach and cross-checking of their published work. This process ensures that every journalist supported is personally known to Unmute Humanity, actively reporting from Gaza

How payments are sent:

Donations will be sent to Drop Site News, a fiscally sponsored 501(c)3 organization for disbursal of $5,000 per journalist using the most secure available method (PayPal, Chuffed, local wallet app, bank, or vetted vendor/in-kind).

About the organizers:

Drop Site News is a non-aligned, investigative news organization dedicated to exposing the crimes of the powerful — particularly in overt and secret conflicts where the U.S. government is playing a key role. Drop Site's mission is to continually pair our journalists with reporters and news outlets in nations in the crosshairs of war and crisis, augmenting and amplifying their on-the-ground experience with our reporting on the backrooms of power. Drop Site currently operates under the fiscal sponsorship of Social Security Works Education Fund (EIN: 46-1500551).

Unmute Humanity is a grassroots collective formed in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. It is fiscally sponsored by Empowerment Works, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 31-1796801). Its mission is to counter anti-Palestinian bias in Western media and to amplify Palestinian voices—especially those of journalists, EMTs, and the civil defense spokesperson—who remain the last witnesses on the ground.

For all other questions about this fundraiser, please contact: contact@dropsitenews.com

Gaza Journalist Fund

Supporting Journalists Evacuating Gaza City and Surviving Displacement in the South