Twitch streamer Hasan “Hasanabi” Piker often gets hate from detractors who claim that there’s an inherent hypocrisy between his own accumulation of wealth and his constant advocacy for workers and disenfranchised communities, despite the fact that he routinely walks the walk in addition to talking the talk. Now, the Twitch star and his community have raised over $US700,000 to aid Palestinian children and refugees affected by Israel’s airstrikes and military assaults on Gaza, with Piker himself kicking $US75,000 into the total.
As ABC News reports, Israeli officials state that more than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel and more than 3,400 have been injured in the days following a surprise attack by Hamas on October 7. Meanwhile, according to BBC, health officials report that Israel’s retaliation, which has included air raids that have reduced much of Gaza to rubble, has killed around 3,000 Palestinian people. The Israeli government also cut off electricity and most water in the region, and hospitals are overflowing with thousands of displaced Palestinians in dire need of medical aid.
Although Twitch is primarily a place for folks to watch their favorite streamer play a video game for hours on end, Piker is using his platform as the seventh most-watched streamer on Twitch to share his perspective on the conflict and to raise funds to help Palestinians suffering as a result of it.
Read More: As Palestine Suffers, A Call For Action
On October 14, Piker announced that he’d set up a fundraising campaign to support The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, American Near East Refugee Aid, Medical Aid for Palestinians, and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Just 40 minutes into Hasan’s stream, which typically runs for eight hours, Hasan and his community had already raised $US180,000 through his Tiltify Impact Fund. By October 16, Hasan’s community had raised more than $US700,000 for Palestinian communities. And because Hasan has periodically matched his viewers’ contributions, that total reflects $US75,000 of Piker’s own money.
“We closed out the day at $US488K,” Hasan wrote on his official Twitter account after October 14’s stream. “I am so proud of this community!”
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