"Whose is it?" - A Palestinian father's fight for a child who may not be his

Mohammed Lubbadi's harrowing story reflects the pain and uncertainty that the war in Gaza brought, destroying his family and leaving him searching for a son whose existence remains uncertain. Amidst tragic losses and conflicting information, he faces a long battle for the truth. In the absence of scientific evidence and in chaotic conditions, the child's fate remains unclear, further increasing his psychological burden. Yet he continues to search for answers, determined not to give up until he discovers the truth.

Mohammed Lubbad found himself being pulled from the rubble of his home after an Israeli airstrike hit the family home just days after the devastating war in Gaza began. It was October 13, 2023 - the day his deep trauma began, but also the day his painful search for a child he had never met and was not even sure had ever been born began.

Mohammed was taken from his now-destroyed home in Beit Lahiya, north of Gaza, to the Indonesian Hospital for medical treatment. As time went on, he began to receive fragmented and often contradictory information: one of his two daughters had survived, while the other - five-year-old Rana - had lost her life, along with his mother, brother, his brother's wife and their child. However, his wife Amal, who was eight months pregnant, had disappeared without a trace.

Initially, hospital staff told Mohammed that Amal had been taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital, where a caesarean section had been performed and a healthy baby boy had been born - their son. But then came another news, filled with uncertainty and pain, that Amal had been transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital due to her deteriorating condition and that she had died on 22 October from head and abdominal injuries.

Mohammed mourned the loss of his wife, just as he had mourned his daughter Rana and other relatives he had lost. However, his mind soon turned to the mystery of his son: was he alive, and if so, where was he?

"Imagine that in the midst of every search for a family member," recounted Mohammed, a 35-year-old programmer, "in the midst of every misfortune, every loss, and every tragedy, we would gather to console each other and then return to the same question: where is the child?"

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A little hope

In late October, he managed to secure a glimmer of hope. His brother-in-law had been informed that the baby might be among a group of premature babies at Al-Shifa Hospital. “The staff told us that it was a baby that matched these details: born at the end of the eighth month of pregnancy and transferred by Kamal Adwan around October 13-14,” he explained. “But unfortunately, there were no clear details or any regular records.”

As uncertainty mounted, it emerged that a baby with a very similar description had been identified by another family and registered under their name, opening a new chapter of confusion and a bitter dispute. Although attempts were made to contact the other family, they refused to provide a statement.

“We kept saying that this child matched the circumstances of the birth of our baby, who had been transferred from Kamal Adwan on the same day,” Mohammed said, highlighting the lack of accurate medical documentation during that chaotic period.

Meanwhile, war conditions were rapidly deteriorating, and the Israeli siege of the Al-Shifa medical complex in November 2023 made access extremely dangerous, while accurate documentation almost impossible. International attention focused on premature babies trapped in the hospital, as fears grew that a power outage would force doctors to shut down vital equipment.

According to a statement from the Gaza police investigation department, the dispute arose after two women in similar circumstances gave birth prematurely. Both babies initially survived and were placed in neonatal intensive care units, but due to attacks and power outages, some of the babies died.

Testimony from hospital staff suggests that one of the babies born to these two deceased mothers was among those who did not survive, leaving only one baby at the center of this painful dilemma.

Severe communication disruptions made it even more difficult to obtain accurate information. By December 2023, Mohammed learned that premature babies born at Al-Shifa would be transferred to Egypt as part of a humanitarian medical evacuation.

Worried that his son might leave the country undetected, he discovered that the babies would first be taken to a hospital in Rafah before being flown out of Gaza. Without wasting any time, he immediately set off for Rafah – but unfortunately he arrived too late, as the babies had already been evacuated to Egypt.

There is no reunion.

At the hospital, Mohammed tried to explain his difficult and uncertain situation to the staff. One of the doctors was understanding and suggested the possibility of a blood test to verify paternity as a way to shed light on the truth. However, since the child had been evacuated to Egypt, this option was no longer feasible and everything remained in limbo.
So Mohammed had no choice but to wait for the return of the evacuated children. This wait lasted a long time - more than two years - until finally, on March 31, the children returned to Gaza. Footage of their return, now slightly older, shows scenes filled with strong emotions, where mothers embrace the children they had not seen for such a long and painful time.
But for Mohammed there was no happy reunion.

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He went with his relatives to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, hoping to see the child he believes is his. However, the other family, in whose name the child was officially registered, was also there.

"There was a little argument between us about the baby," Mohammed said. "The medical examiners stepped in and listened to both sides, and were struck by the strong similarities between the two cases."
The police investigation department stated that the baby was wearing an identification bracelet indicating that he was not Mohammed Lubbadi's son. However, they stressed that, due to the loss of documentation at Kamal Adwan Hospital and the lack of supporting scientific evidence, the initial registration of the child in the other family's name cannot be considered final or irrefutable.

Mohammed is deeply convinced that the child is his and insists on a DNA test to finally resolve the issue.

"The DNA test is the deciding factor," he said. "I am ready to accept any result, whether it is my son or belongs to another family. What is most important to me is to have certainty about the truth."

The big problem for Mohammed is that DNA tests are not available in Gaza. Al-Shifa Hospital explains that this is because specialized laboratories for such analyses have been destroyed or rendered non-functional during the war.

“Gaza currently lacks any precise scientific tools for forensic investigations,” police investigators said in a statement. “What is needed is either the provision of DNA testing equipment within Gaza, or the urgent transfer of samples through international institutions to accredited laboratories in Egypt or Jordan.”

"The main objective is to achieve a final result that puts an end to all doubt," the statement added. "Leaving this issue without a scientific answer has profound human and psychological consequences for both families."

This is exactly what Mohammed is experiencing, who is trapped between uncertainties and the lack of a definitive answer that would allow him to move forward with his life.

"Any father in my country can imagine how difficult this is," he said. "I am close to a psychological collapse that is affecting my entire life and work."

"The only thing I want is to put an end to this dispute," he added, calling on local and international institutions to intervene to find a solution. "This should not be impossible."

Mohammed, who is now the sole parent of his four-year-old daughter, Jana, has no intention of giving up. He plans to continue his efforts by organizing a protest together with his family in front of Al-Shifa Hospital.

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Israel's war has taken his wife, one of his daughters, and other family members, but he remains convinced that somewhere out there is a son who is his. And until he gets a clear answer, he feels he cannot continue his life normally.

"The psychological impact is profound and ongoing," Mohammed said. "I can't work or live normally. I'm confused; my whole life has stopped."