In the midst of a painful reality and under the weight of a merciless Israeli genocide, sometimes people in Gaza receive aid that brings a glimmer of hope. Even a small parcel with simple, seemingly trivial items, can provide a lifeline for some of us. On 1 October, my family received such a package, containing a pair of girls’ shoes. The shoes didn’t fit anyone in our family, so I decided to go to al-Sahaba Market near al-Daraj neighborhood to try to sell them and buy something useful instead.