Mother’s Day arrives in Gaza without celebration, marked only by hunger, grief and the enduring pain of mothers still searching for their missing children.
In worn tents across Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Palestinian mothers spend the day mourning sons killed in Israeli strikes, waiting for news of detained or missing relatives and struggling to keep their families alive amid war, displacement and deepening famine.
A woman mourns over the body of one of two Palestinian police officers reportedly killed earlier in the day in an Israeli airstrike on their vehicle during the officers’ funerals at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Palestine, May 10, 2026. (AFP Photo)
While several countries, including Türkiye, observe Mother’s Day on Sunday, many mothers in Gaza say their hopes have narrowed to survival, seeking only safety, food and the chance to shield their children from death and repeated displacement.
According to U.N. Women, more than 22,000 women and nearly 16,000 girls have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
