Meet Ahmad, the Trainer Who Lost His Gym but Kept His Strength
Posted on 29 Dec 2025
Before the War: A Life of Stability and Strength
Before everything changed, Ahmad Hamdan, 33, lived in Tel Al-Sultan, Rafah. He describes a life that was simple, active, and full of purpose. As both a nurse in Gaza’s health sector and a fitness trainer, his days were structured around caring for others, in the clinic and in the gym.
Before the conflict, Ahmad’s strength was physical. Today, it is emotional; the strength to protect his family, survive displacement, and remain a source of support for others.
Seven Displacements, No Safe Destination
When danger came close to Rafah, Ahmad, his wife, and their infant son faced the first of many escapes. They fled on 28 May 2024, not knowing that displacement would repeat itself another six times.Ahmad describes the experience as one without safety and without certainty.
“I’ve been displaced seven times. Every time I thought it was the last, but there’s no end to this road. Even the prison didn’t protect me from the war. I lived in a prison, and every night I heard the bombing and said to myself: if even prison isn’t safe, where is safety?”
By September 2025, new evacuation orders forced him to flee again. Holding his young son, he walked for three days through overcrowded areas where no shelters remained.
“There was no space anywhere. The only place left was Mawasi Rafah — it was a red zone, but I had no other choice.”
Today, the family lives in a small tent in Al-Mukhtar Site. His son Samir learned to walk there — in a world he has never known without war.
“He opened his eyes to a world he never saw peace in,” Ahmad said.“He learned to fear before he learned to speak.”
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Recent DRC Winterization and Hygiene Support
On 27–28 October 2025, DRC and PHC, in coordination with ICRC, delivered 1,225 hygiene kits to newly accessible sites in Mawasi Rafah—the first humanitarian assistance since gaining access earlier in the month.
In November 2025, DRC distributed 160 new tents on 17 November as part of its winterization response, prioritizing families most exposed to harsh weather after the recent winter storm. Additionally, partner PARC will distribute 602 more tents across five coastal and remote sites, targeting households displaced from the north and those already living in vulnerable coastal areas.
Other Winterization Measures
DRC partners reinforced six sites in southern Mawasi with sandbags and slope protection to reduce flooding risks.
Through PARC, 5,000 tarpaulins were distributed on 13, 15, and 16 November. PARC also ensured safe installation, improving shelter protection against rain and wind.
Daily Survival: Water, Food, and Fear
Ahmad explains how displacement has touched every element of life; how survival is no longer passive but a constant process of searching, rationing, and risk-taking. “Nights are full of fear, and days are full of worry, but we try to live.” The tent has no electricity. No running water. No protection from wind or heat. “When my son needs a bath, I take him to the sea beside the tent, and the boats start shooting. Even water has become dangerous.”
On many days, there was no food. “Sometimes I risked my life to reach GHF points just to find milk for my son. I couldn’t let him sleep hungry. I saw people dying in front of my eyes, I ran and faced death more than once just to bring back a piece of bread.” Before the war, Ahmad weighed 90 kilos. Now he weighs 70. “I lost my body and muscles, but not my faith.. I still have a white heart.”
Despite exhaustion, he refuses to stand by while others suffer. He keeps a first-aid bag in his tent and treats people when he can — the nurse in him never left. “I’m a nurse. I can’t watch people suffer without helping. I always keep my first aid bag close, it’s my way to serve, even here.” He also volunteers with community kitchens, sharing what little exists. “We help each other here. The committees cook and share food. We survive because we stand together.”
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Food systems have nearly collapsed. About 98.5% of cropland is damaged or inaccessible, forcing families to rely on costly, irregular food imports they can barely afford.
Maybe the war took everything, but it couldn’t take our will to live. We are not numbers. We are people who dream, love, and want to live. Please don’t forget us.
/ Ahmad
Winter: The Season He Fears Most
“Winter scares me more than the bombing. When the rain enters the tent, I feel like I’m drowning.” Rain collapses shelters. Blankets are not enough. Children get sick. Parents stay awake all night holding fabric down with rope. “There’s no heating, no enough blankets, but there’s a child who must stay warm. I try to cover him with my body. At night, the wind tears the tent, and I stay awake tying the ropes so it won’t fly away.
Last winter was hard, but the this one will be worse. The tent can’t handle one more drop of rain.” His request is simple — not safety, not certainty, just survival. “I just need something to keep my son warm and dry, blankets, and a roof that doesn’t leak.”
Winterization Response
DRC partners have reinforced six sites in southern Mawasi to reduce flooding risks, using sandbags and strengthening slopes and low-lying areas to prevent water buildup.
Through partner PARC, 5,000 tarpaulins were distributed on 13, 15, and 16 November across displacement sites. PARC also ensured safe installation, securing tarpaulins properly to provide better protection for vulnerable shelters.
What Keeps Him Standing
Ahmad has lost a career, a home, and a life he built over years, but he still wakes every day to keep his son alive. His hope is rooted not in what remains, but in who remains. “Every morning, I tell myself: I must stay standing for Samir. I’m tired, but I’m still breathing the air of Rafah, and that air reminds me I still have a home.”
Like many fathers in Gaza, his dreams are small, human, and universal: “I don’t need much. I just want my son to have a normal childhood, one without fear.”
