Carrying a kite filled with handwritten dreams and messages from children in Gaza, climber Mostafa Salameh is making his way toward the summit of Mount Everest in an effort to draw global attention to the humanitarian toll of the war on Palestinian children.
Tucked among his expedition gear is the kite in red, black, white and green of the Palestinian flag, marked with handwritten messages from children in the battered territory.
The Israeli attacks on Gaza, which began in October 2023, have killed more than 72,000 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Yet the simple wishes, shaped by loss, grief and displacement, reflect hope for a future beyond conflict.
Palestinian-Jordanian Salameh also wants to raise $10 million for the UK-based charity Al-Khair Foundation, which provides nutrition, sanitation, shelter and psychological support to Gazans.
"We have all these dreams of the children of Gaza that's going to go up to the top of the world because they can't do anything now in Gaza," Salameh told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in a video interview.
"They don't have homes or education. Everything is being done in a tent. And they don't have access to clean water, proper food or proper medication," said the mountaineer, who met the children at the Rafah border after they crossed into Egypt.
The war has displaced nearly Gaza's entire population and reduced swathes of the Palestinian territory to rubble.
Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tents and conditions remain dire despite a cease-fire that took effect in October last year.
For Salameh, the expedition hopes to shine a light on the plight of the children and amplify their voices.
"The whole world is closing their eyes when it comes to Palestine," said Salameh, who hopes to make the summit before the spring climbing season wraps up in the next few weeks.
He also added, "it's about awareness on what these children are going through and at the same time to raise money."
The messages inscribed on the kite reflect both ambition and grief, children hoping to become doctors or engineers to rebuild their shattered homes, alongside stark reminders of loss.
One girl, Munira, asked Salameh to write the number 47 on the kite. "I said, what is number 47? And she replied that it was the number of all her family members who have been killed," he said.
Born in Kuwait City to Palestinian parents and raised in a refugee camp, Mostafa Salameh says his journey has been shaped by struggle and determination.
Salameh was working at a hotel in Edinburgh in 2004 when a dream changed his life. In the dream, he saw himself standing atop Mount Everest reciting the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer.
“That’s where the journey started. I had never climbed a mountain in my life before that,” he said.
He made his first attempt to climb Everest a year later at the age of 35 but reached the summit only on his third try in 2008.
Since then, Salameh has completed the Explorer’s Grand Slam, which includes climbing the highest peaks on every continent and skiing to both the North and South Poles.
Many of his expeditions have focused on humanitarian causes, including raising funds for Syria, blind children and cancer patients.
Although he had vowed not to return to Everest, the war in Gaza became the motivation that changed his mind. “I’m Jordanian originally, my family is from Palestine, and I relate to what these kids are going through,” he said.
After nine months of preparation, Salameh says he hopes the climb will create both symbolic and tangible impact. “When you truly believe in a cause with your heart and soul, it pushes you to do it,” he said.
“My dream is to see Palestine free one day and that we can go and visit,” he concluded.
