Skip linksSkip to Content
play
Live
Navigation menu
  • News
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Middle East
  • Explained
  • Opinion
  • Sport
  • Video
    • Features
    • Economy
    • Human Rights
    • Climate Crisis
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Science & Technology
    • Podcasts
play
Live
Navigation menu
  • Israel-Palestine conflict
  • Photos: The deadliest day at aid centres
  • Why is the West Bank under lockdown?
  • What is the Global March to Gaza?
  • Does Netanyahu want Hamas gone?
  • Gaza aid turmoil: how it unfolded

In Pictures

Gallery|Israel-Palestine conflict

In Pictures: New baby brings joy to displaced family in Gaza

The birth of baby Mohammed has brought much needed joy to his family, which was displaced by Israeli air raids.

Hiyam al-Safadi holds up her new grandchild in an UNRWA-run school after her family was displaced from their homes in northern Gaza. [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]
By Linah Alsaafin
Published On 20 May 202120 May 2021
facebooktwitterwhatsappcopylink

Mohammed al-Deif Adham al-Safadi was born just before dawn on Thursday in Gaza City, bringing much-needed joy to his family.

“I hope he will bless our lives with his presence. He has already filled us with so much happiness,” Hiyam al-Safadi, his 48-year-old grandmother, told Al Jazeera in a telephone interview.

Mohammed’s grandparents, parents, and his older brother were displaced from their home after Israel launched air raids on the besieged Gaza Strip on May 10 after Hamas, the Palestinian group which controls the territory, fired rockets into Israel.

At least 230 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel started its bombardment of the territory, including 65 children. Israel has reported 12 people, including two children, killed in rocket attacks carried out by armed groups in Gaza.

According to the United Nations, more than 72,000 people have been displaced in Gaza since the violence escalated.

The al-Safadi family home is located close to Israel’s fence in the northern Gaza Strip and they fled to the UNRWA-led Gaza al-Jadeeda school in Gaza City due to the intensity of the aerial bombardment.

“We haven’t been able to go back,” Adham al-Safadi, Mohammed’s father said. “It’s too dangerous and there are no safe places to go to.”

Ansam al-Safadi, Mohammed’s mother, said she never thought she would welcome her baby boy in a classroom inhabited by other families.

After giving birth at the al-Awda Hospital, Ansam was back at the school a few hours later.

“It’s a tough situation to be in,” she said. “The end of my pregnancy was marked with a state of fear and panic. Here, there is no privacy, and we don’t even have a crib for Mohammed.”

Advertisement

Nevertheless, the baby has brought new hope for the family.

“We were very upset when we left our homes, but today, we are happy because of this child which God has given to us under these difficult circumstances,” Hiyam said.

Additional reporting by Ashraf Amra in Gaza.

Baby Mohammed al-Deif Adham al-Safadi takes his first bath in a small tub. [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]
Advertisement
The family fled their homes near the Israeli fence in the northern Gaza Strip on the first day of the Israeli bombardment. [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]
Ansam holds her baby son as she sits on the floor of the classroom she is currently living in. ‘We don’t even have a crib for [him],’ she said. [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]
Relatives and friends surround baby Mohammed in the Gaza al-Jadeeda school in Gaza City. [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]
More than 72,000 people have been displaced due to the Israeli bombardment, according to the UN. [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]
Adham al-Safadi holds his son outside one of the classrooms. [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]
Advertisement
The al-Safadis have not been able to go back to their home, saying it is too dangerous. [Ashraf Amra/Al Jazeera]


    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Sitemap
    • Work for us
    • Contact Us
    • User Accounts Help
    • Advertise with us
    • Stay Connected
    • Newsletters
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners

Follow Al Jazeera English:

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram-colored-outline
  • rss
Al Jazeera Media Network logo
© 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network