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The hopes and dreams of Palestinian children from Gaza have reached the top of the world as a kite bearing their handwritten messages was carried to the summit of Mount Everest by a team of mountaineers.
The group summited the world’s highest peak at 10:48am local time (05:03 GMT) on Thursday, Jordanian Palestinian mountaineer Mostafa Salameh, who was spearheading the expedition but did not summit, confirmed in a social media post.
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A team of Nepali Sherpas – led by Italian filmmaker and explorer Leonardo Avezzano – carried the kite to ensure that the dreams of children in the besieged Strip could make it “to the top of the world”, Salameh told Al Jazeera from the Everest base camp last week.
Salameh, who has previously summited Everest, stayed at the first base camp due to frostbite and a blood clot in his left hand.
The 56-year-old climber launched this expedition to raise $10m towards medical aid for children in the Strip and draw global attention towards the difficulties they have faced during the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
“After months of preparation, sacrifice, training, fear, hope, prayers, and carrying the weight of a message much bigger than themselves… the kite carrying the dreams of the children of Gaza is now flying above the highest point on Earth,” Salameh said in a video posted to Instagram.
“From the rubble and pain of Gaza … to the roof of the world. A dream refused to die,” he wrote in the caption.
Avezzano, who has documented the journey to the summit, and his team were hailed by Salameh.
“Tonight, at 8,848 metres (29,029 feet) in the death zone where every step feels like a battle between life and exhaustion, Leonardo carried that kite with courage, heart, and purpose.
“I am so proud of my brother Leonardo for believing in this mission and for carrying the voices, names, hopes, and dreams of children who deserve to be seen by the world,” Salameh added.
He emphasised that the summit was not only about climbing a mountain but about humanity, hope, and proving that “even from darkness, something beautiful can still rise into the sky.”
“Massive respect and gratitude to the incredible Sherpa team – the real heroes of the Himalayas. Without their strength, wisdom, and hearts, none of this would be possible. Thank you for protecting the team and helping carry this mission to the summit safely,” Salameh wrote.
Everest is one of the riskiest summits, as oxygen levels drop dangerously near the peak.
Salameh said the “mission [was] not accomplished yet” since summiting Everest was only the halfway point; returning to base camp safely was the next goal for Leonardo and his team, who would assess whether to sleep at camp four or continue down to camp two based on weather conditions.
“Tonight, the kite flies above Everest; tonight, the dreams of Gaza touched the sky,” Salameh said, ending the video with a chant of “Free, Free Palestine”.
Telling the story of ‘every Palestinian child’
Salameh is one of 20 people to have completed the Explorer’s Slam – the accomplishment of reaching the North and South poles and climbing the highest peaks on all seven continents. He has summited Everest four times, the first being in 2008, the year he was honoured with knighthood by King Abdullah II of Jordan.
“What I do best is climb mountains,” he told Al Jazeera in an interview last week from the base camp.
“I did promise lots of people in my life not to go back to Everest, but this is worth it. As a mountaineer, what I can do is bring the story and suffering of every Palestinian child all the way to the top of the world.”
Salameh acknowledged the immense risks – including death – that come with scaling Mount Everest at 8,000 metres with only 15 percent oxygen, but insisted it was “absolutely nothing” compared with what the Palestinians in Gaza have endured.
“This time is very personal for me,” Salameh said in another video.
“This one hits home for the child in me, because I know what it feels like to be a child at a refugee camp, and I feel for the children of Gaza and what they go through.
“What makes it more personal is that I visited these kids; I couldn’t visit Gaza but I was on the other side in Egypt and I saw them and sat down with them and it broke my heart.”
He said the people of Palestine give him inspiration to continue his work even in the toughest of circumstances.
“It doesn’t matter what happens; these people’s houses are being demolished and they put up a tent right there to stay on their land.
”I’ve learned massive lessons from them. I’ve learned dignity, I’ve learned freedom. I’ve learned to become a man, to be true to myself rather than be strong.”
