Climber Mostafa Salameh is carrying a kite scribbled with dreams of Gaza's children to the summit of Mount Everest, seeking to raise awareness of the war's toll on its youngest victims.
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 war, sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, has killed more than 72,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry which operates under Hamas authority.
The simple wishes -- shaped by loss, grief and displacement -- reflect hope for a future beyond conflict.
Palestinian-Jordanian Salameh, 56, 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 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 ceasefire 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.
"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.
- 'A little change' -
Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents and raised in a refugee camp, Salameh's own journey has been shaped by struggle and determination.
He was working at a hotel in Edinburgh in 2004, pursuing a career in hospitality, when a vivid dream changed his life.
He saw that he was standing on the top of Everest, reciting the azan, the Islamic call to prayer.
"This is where the journey started. I had never climbed a mountain in my life before that," he said.
He made his first attempt to scale the world's highest peak a year later at the age of 35. But he made it to the summit only on his third attempt in 2008.
Since then, he has completed the Explorer's Grand Slam -- a challenge that involves climbing the highest peaks on each continent and skiing to both the North and South Poles.
Many of his expeditions have been for a purpose -- raising funds for Syria, blind children and cancer patients.
Although he had vowed not to return to the Everest, the war in Gaza became the motivation that he needed.
"I'm a 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 is hoping the climb will result in something both symbolic and tangible.
"When you have some cause that you really believe in, in your heart and soul and mind, I think it can push you to go and do it," he said.
"If we can make a little change, I would be happy."
Beyond the summit, his ambitions remain rooted in a broader aspiration.
"My dream is to see Palestine free one day and that we can go and visit."
