Q&A: 'I keep going back to Gaza because we can make a difference'

In January, Steve Sosebee, draped in a keffiyeh, accepted TRT's Lifetime Achievement Award for decades of his humanitarian work in Palestine.

“You are not alone,” he said, aimed at Palestinians as he accepted the award in recognition of his tireless work.

Sosebee defies stereotypes through his unwavering commitment, especially to Palestinian children in the face of Israel’s decades-long oppression.

In 1991, alongside his late wife, Huda Al Masri, he founded the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) to provide medical care, humanitarian aid, and support for Palestinians.

Continuing his mission, in 2024, Sosebee established HEAL Palestine, which focuses on Health, Education, Aid, and Leadership to assist children and families in need.

Through his tireless efforts, he has helped over 2,000 Palestinian children receive life-saving medical care across international borders.

“It took a genocide for people to wake up,” he says in an exclusive interview with TRT World, reflecting on his journey, the mission of HEAL Palestine, and the urgent need for global action.

HEAL Palestine is built on four key pillars: health, education, aid, and leadership.

The organisation provides mental health support and operates a field hospital in Gaza, funds schools and student sponsorships, and runs food kitchens that feed tens of thousands. It also plays a crucial role in delivering medical supplies and humanitarian aid, particularly in northern Gaza.

TRT World sat down with Steve and here’s what he had to say.

TRT World: How did you come up with the idea of founding a humanitarian relief organisation for Palestinian children?

Steve Sosebee: I first visited Palestine in 1988. It was during the First Intifada. As students of journalism, we toured the [occupied] West Bank and Gaza, and we got to meet families and saw what their life was like. I fell in love with the culture and people when I also saw their immense struggle. That trip changed my life.

Initially, I worked as a journalist to educate Americans about the realities on the ground—realities that were largely unknown in the US back then. I don't think many Americans knew about the harshness of the occupation and ethnic cleansing.

For me, life took a different route to reach the same people. Everything changed when I arranged medical care for a brother and sister badly injured in a bombing in the West Bank. I brought them to Ohio for treatment, and the impact was profound—not just for them, but for the entire community.

The Palestinian community, the Arab community, stepped forward and took care of them. It was a moment of human connection. People showed compassion and came together to know about the kids. That’s when I realised humanitarian work could be a powerful tool for change.

These kids, once faceless victims, became real to people. Their story made headlines. And for the first time, many Americans saw Palestinian children as human beings –smiling, laughing, living, breathing kids– and not the dehumanised version that can be complicit in facilitating a genocide.

TRT World: How do you view the Western media’s portrayal of Palestinians?

Sosebee: The dehumanisation of Palestinians is deliberate. The only way massive atrocities can be committed against the children of Gaza is if people see them as less than human. And the media has played a key role in creating that perception.

Even today, coverage is biased. The same events are reported differently depending on whether they involve Israelis or Palestinians.

The mainstream media whether it is The New York Times or CNN continue to filter out facts and add subjective analysis to an objective issue: killing children is wrong. Yet there's always justification for it in the American mainstream media.

Social media has changed the landscape, though. And platforms like TRT World, independent journalists, and citizen reporters have allowed people to see the raw truth—something mainstream media still filters or distorts.

That’s why Palestinian journalists have been targeted for showing the truth. They are among the real heroes of this crisis, alongside doctors, nurses, and first responders.

TRT World: Is there one child you worked with who particularly stands out?

Sosebee: There are so many of them. But one boy comes to mind—an 11-year-old from Gaza. In 1991, an Israeli helicopter bomb left him without both legs and one arm. Before founding PCRF, I arranged for his medical care in Los Angeles. He learned to walk with prosthetics, went to school, and excelled academically. Even President Bill Clinton wrote him a congratulatory letter.

Years later, he returned to Gaza, started a family, and never saw himself as disabled. He was always positive, always helping others. We stayed very close, always sending each other messages. I’ve developed friendships like that with a lot of the kids. But for the past six months, I haven’t heard from him. I don’t know if he’s alive. That uncertainty is heartbreaking.

TRT World: After witnessing so much suffering, how do you maintain your motivation and emotional well-being?

Sosebee: It’s incredibly difficult. Gaza has been part of my life since 1988. Gaza is special to me. To see it now completely destroyed, and almost unrecognisable, is devastating. I’ve lost friends, colleagues, and children I’ve cared for. But I keep going because we can make a difference in a positive way.

We have 30 injured kids in the US now getting treatment with Heal Palestine. We've opened a field hospital that's treated thousands of people in Gaza during these terrible last sixteen months. We've opened schools. We've opened food kitchens; we've fed thousands in Gaza.

It’s painful to witness what’s happening, but the ability to make a real impact keeps me going. The biggest challenge is holding onto hope—that we, as human beings, can help these children, even after all they’ve endured. I’ve seen kids missing limbs, needing surgery, and then growing into adults who care for others, who start families, who live full lives. That’s incredibly rewarding.

Seeing children grow into adults who give back to their communities—that’s what keeps me going. When I lost my first wife, Huda Al-Masri, to leukaemia in 2009, I was devastated. I had two daughters to raise, and what gave me the strength to move forward was having a purpose bigger than myself—helping Palestinian children. This work has been my anchor.

Some of the kids I helped decades ago are now adults with their own families, even running businesses, and they give back. That kind of growth, that cycle of support, gives me the strength to keep going, no matter how difficult the times.

TRT World: You received the Lifetime Achievement Award from TRT. In your speech, you said, “We are not here to receive awards but for a cause.” Can you elaborate on that?

Sosebee: I was honoured to be recognised, but awards are not the point. Helping those in need, especially during genocide, is a basic human responsibility that should be done with humility, and not something you do for recognition.

I was born free. I never had to fight for my rights. But that freedom comes with a duty to stand with those who don’t have it. That includes Palestinians, as well as marginalised communities in my own country, struggling for equality. I stand with them, and overseas with those who are being directly affected by the policies of their governments.

But moreover, it's to bring about a change in a positive way.

The situation in Gaza evokes strong emotions—outrage, despair, frustration. But those emotions are not enough. Palestinians don’t need our pity; they need action. Clicking “like” on social media isn’t enough. We must channel our anger into meaningful work. That’s why I founded HEAL Palestine.

If, after dedicating my life to the cause, there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: we can make a difference, if we choose to.