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Mothers Without Children: When Israel Stole the Joy of Motherhood

Mothers Without Children: When Israel Stole the Joy of Motherhood

Features March 22, 2025
Mothers Without Children: When Israel Stole the Joy of Motherhood
In many parts of the world, Mother’s Day is a time of celebration. Families gather, children surprise their mothers with flowers, and gratitude fills the air. But in Palestine, especially in Gaza, this day is marked by pain, loss, and endless suffering. For Palestinian mothers, there is no joy today; only heartbreak. Israel’s relentless attacks have turned this sacred day into a reminder of everything they have lost.

Mothers in Prison, Children in Tears

According to prisoner organizations, 14 Palestinian mothers remain imprisoned in Israeli jails. They are among 25 female detainees suffering under inhumane conditions. These women endure isolation, abuse, and medical neglect. Their children wait endlessly, longing for a hug that may never come. For many Palestinian families, the nightmare begins with a sudden, violent detention. Israeli forces storm homes in the dead of night, tearing mothers away from their children. Screams echo through the walls, but no one comes to help. The children are left behind, their hearts shattered, their world turned upside down.

Israeli War on Women

Since Israel’s assault on Gaza escalated in October 2023, the situation for Palestinian women has become unbearable. Human rights groups report that at least 500 women have been kidnapped, many used as hostages to pressure their family members. In the overcrowded, freezing cells of Damon Prison, Palestinian women face daily humiliation. They are denied family visits. They are cut off from their children. Some are pregnant, yet medical care is nearly nonexistent.

Mothers Burying Their Children

The atrocities extend far beyond prison walls. On this Mother’s Day, thousands of Palestinian mothers are mourning their children—killed in Israeli relentless airstrikes. According to the Government media office, earlier during the genocide, a mass grave was dug in Gaza’s Al-Tuffah neighborhood. Inside, 43 bodies were buried, many unrecognizable. Among them were mothers still clutching their children in death. Three unborn babies were found outside their mothers’ bodies—ripped from their wombs by Israeli bombs. Gaza’s healthcare system has collapsed. Hospitals have been bombed, ambulances targeted, and medical supplies cut off. More than 60,000 pregnant women are at risk, unable to access proper care. Every day, at least 180 women give birth in Gaza. Many are forced to deliver without anesthesia. Some undergo C-sections with no pain relief. Others bleed to death because there are no antibiotics, no sterile tools, no blood transfusions. Newborns, the most innocent victims, are dying in incubators as power cuts leave them gasping for air. Their mothers watch helplessly, unable to save them.

The Mothers Who Lost Everything

Asmaa Al-Maghari was once a joyful mother. Now, she is childless. “On this Mother’s Day, I am neither a mother nor a daughter,” she says. Her mother and her children were both killed in Israeli airstrikes. Her daughter once told her, “Mama, I’m not afraid of the bombs. I just don’t want to die.” But she did. Ayah Hassouna also lost her children. She plays old voice recordings of them, clinging to the echoes of their love. “I open their recordings and hear them say, ‘We love you, Mama, come home soon.’” But there is no home left. There are no children left. Hanin Muqaddad once called herself the happiest mother. Now, she grieves the loss of her children, Omar, Nada, and Zina. “I was the luckiest mom in the world. I was also the luckiest daughter. But now, I have lost them all.”

A Day the World Must Not Ignore

While the world celebrates Mother’s Day, Gaza’s mothers continue to weep. They bury their children. They give birth in impossible conditions. They sit in dark prison cells, longing for their babies. The world must listen. The world must act. Because in Gaza, Mother’s Day is not a celebration. It is a day of mourning. A day of unbearable pain. A day that should never be ignored.

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