More than £27,000 has been raised for the surviving members of the Al-Khawas family following the devastating deaths of four family members off the Sussex coast. The heartbreaking news was met with racist trolling on social media following the tragic incident.
The GoFundMe appeal, launched by the Palestine Forum in Britain, has now raised £27,295 from 581 donations, comfortably exceeding its original £20,000 target.
The fundraiser was established following the deaths of Hussam Al-Khawas, 55, his wife Zeina Alayn, 37, and their daughters Sara, 14, and Saja, six.
The family got into difficulty in the sea near Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex on August 18.
According to the Palestinian Forum in Britain, the tragedy unfolded after Sara encountered difficulty in the water and her father entered the sea to help her. As conditions deteriorated, Zeina and then six-year-old Saja also entered the water.
Hussam, Zeina and Sara were brought ashore but were pronounced dead. Saja was rescued and taken to hospital in a critical condition, but died three days later.
Sussex Police have said that, following a review of CCTV footage and initial witness accounts, their current assessment is that the deaths were a tragic accident with no third-party involvement.
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The family were British citizens of Palestinian origin, with roots in the Rashidieh refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Hussam and Zeina were born there before eventually building their lives in Britain. Their two surviving children are now being cared for by relatives.
An outpouring of solidarity
The fundraiser was launched to help cover the costs of repatriating the family’s bodies to Lebanon and their funeral arrangements, while also providing ongoing welfare, care and educational support for the two surviving children.
The appeal initially sought £20,000 but passed that figure rapidly, with donations continuing to pour in.
The latest total now stands at £27,295 from 581 donors.
Crucially, the response has not come exclusively from Palestinians or Muslims. The fundraiser’s organisers have highlighted an “outpouring of solidarity” from the wider public, including British friends and supporters alongside members of the Palestinian and wider Arab communities.
Palestine Forum in Britain chairman Adnan Hmidan described the response as “truly humbling”, saying the humanitarian nature of the appeal had brought people together.
The donation page itself shows contributions from a wide range of supporters, including named British donors as well as anonymous contributors. However, the fundraiser does not record donors’ religious identities, meaning it is impossible to give an exact breakdown between Muslim and non-Muslim donors.
Nevertheless, the breadth of the response is significant at a time when Britain’s Muslim and Palestinian communities have faced a rise in hostility and Islamophobic abuse.
Racist online abuse
The tragedy has also been accompanied by a disturbing wave of racist, anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic comments online.
Comments insulting the way they look and dress, their inability to swim, and Islamophobic insults about their religious background have swamped the comments sections under news posts announcing the deaths. Many of the comments are so upsetting that 5Pillars opted not to share them in this article.
Anti-racism campaigners Stand Up To Racism said they had been “horrified” by racist and Islamophobic material appearing in response to the family’s deaths, including comments appearing to celebrate the tragedy.
“We have been horrified by racist, anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic comments celebrating this tragedy. Whatever someone’s nationality, heritage, skin colour or perceived religion, the loss of a family should be met with compassion; not hatred. There is nothing shameful about being a refugee. But words matter, and years of hostile rhetoric about refugees, Muslims, migrants and racialised communities have helped create a climate in which some feel emboldened to express racism openly. This was, above all, a devastating human tragedy. Our community must respond with compassion, solidarity and a rejection of racism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian hatred.”
The abuse has added another deeply troubling dimension to an already devastating story. Their deaths have instead become the subject of racist and Islamophobic commentary from some sections of the online public, while thousands of others have responded with compassion.
Dangers of swimming at sea
The family’s tragedy has also prompted wider discussion about water safety.
An inquest into the deaths opened this week, with the hearing told that Saja suffered a hypoxic brain injury before she died in hospital. The inquest was adjourned until March 2027, while the police investigation remains ongoing.
The sad incident is just one of several that have been reported in 2026 involving Muslims drowning in tragic accidents off British coasts. 5Pillars editor Roshan Salih responded to the heartbreaking phenomenon, urging British Muslims to stay safe, ensure they learn how to become strong swimmers, whilst avoiding taking risks.
“Quite a few Muslims have died recently after getting into trouble swimming in British coastal resorts. I don’t know the exact circumstances of these deaths, so the following statement is general. Unfortunately, our community is notoriously bad at swimming and teaching our kids how to swim, yet far too willing to take risks when swimming in the sea. Over the past few weeks, I have witnessed this myself on the south coast of Britain, with Muslim and Asian families especially swimming far from the shore, either alone or with flimsy swimming aids. The sea can be dangerous and currents can be a real challenge for even strong swimmers. Every Muslim should know how to swim, but we should also respect the power of Allah’s creation and not take stupid risks.”
The Al-Khawas fundraiser remains open, with additional donations intended to help support their living, welfare and educational needs in the months and years ahead.
At a time when Muslims and Palestinians in Britain are increasingly confronted with hostility, the response to the Al-Khawas family’s tragedy also offers another story – one of ordinary people, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, refusing to allow hatred to have the final word.
