‘Tears and grief’: Mother’s Day in Gaza marked by mourning

Day of intense hardship as mothers mourn children lost in war and children face day without their mothers.While much of the Middle East celebrated Mother’s Day with flowers and gifts this weekend, in Gaza, the occasion served as a painful reminder of precious lives lost.Sitting in her tent in Gaza City on Saturday, Em Rami Dawwas remembered the three sons she lost in Israeli attacks, two of whose bodies are still being withheld by the authorities.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israel continues Gaza attacks amid regional war, kills several Palestinianslist 2 of 3Eid under siege: Little to celebrate in Gaza as Israel tightens chokeholdlist 3 of 3Eid without toys: Israeli restrictions drive up prices in Gazaend of list“I miss my sons on Mother’s Day. They used to bring me gifts, flowers, sweets, and ask me about my needs. They were the light of my life,” she said, sitting among boxes filled with their clothes, which she cannot bring herself to throw away.Palestinian children have borne the brunt of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that began in October 2023, with UNICEF estimating in October last year that 64,000 children have been killed and wounded in Israeli attacks.Reporting from among the tents in Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said Dawwas kept the photos of her sons under her pillow, looking at them every day, “as if holding on will keep their memory alive”.Many mothers spend the day in graveyards, sitting in the only place they can feel close to their dead children, said Khoudary.‘I just wanted to make her happy’Maram Ahmed faced a second Mother’s Day without her mother, who she lost in an Israeli air attack that killed her entire family. Her mother was her closest friend, said Khoudary.“On Mother’s Day, even if I didn’t have money, I would buy my mum a gift from my allowance, even if it was for less than a dollar. I just wanted to make her happy,” said the 14-year-old, sitting in her sparse tent.