“She was my other half”: Gazan Fathers Speak Out on Navigating Widowhood Amid Israel’s Genocide

The unseen suffering of Gaza’s widowed men has often been overshadowed throughout Israel’s ongoing genocide, but their anguish must be acknowledged.

While much attention has been drawn to the plight of children, mothers, and journalists in Gaza, a silent and profound pain grips the hearts of fathers who have lost their spouses. These widowers are navigating unimaginable hardships—raising children without their mothers, while contending with war, starvation, and displacement.

Enduring Loss, Enduring Survival

Mohammed Anwar al-Doush

Residing in a makeshift classroom shelter in Sheikh Radwan, Gaza City, 47-year-old Mohammed has been plunged into darkness by the loss of his wife, Warda, and their daughter—both killed in a November 17, 2023 airstrike. The routines he once took for granted—help around the house, tender care for his children—are gone. He now washes clothes by hand, kneads dough, and cooks. Yet he laments that his efforts “don’t make up even 10 per cent of what their mother did.” He says, with palpable grief, “she was my other half”.

Islam Shreiteh

A 40-year-old psychiatrist from Sabra, southern Gaza City, Islam lost his wife, Nesma al-Wakil, in a drone strike on May 23, 2025. He recounts being with his wife, brother, and sister-in-law moments before the attack. Islam now handles “over 80 per cent” of the household tasks—from cooking and cleaning to caring for their children. He speaks of a “huge void” and mourns the loss of their 17-year companionship, recalling his late wife as the family’s backbone, their children’s first teacher, and “the true teacher of our children.”

Mutaz Ziada

In Beit Lahia, north Gaza, 41-year-old Mutaz lost his wife, Sahar, while she carried a white flag seeking provisions amid siege conditions. Her death left him alone with their four daughters. Now, he fetches water—a three-kilometer journey—cooks, washes, and protects his children from an unrelenting maelstrom of war and starvation. “Women … are half of this society and its beating heart,” he says, lamenting that though he has become “mother, father, guard, and baker,” he cannot replace their mother.

Bravery in the Face of Starvation and Displacement

These fathers contend not only with grief and shifting family roles but also with Gaza’s dire living conditions: rampant starvation, forced displacement, and a collapsing infrastructure. Providing even a single meal—or securing baby formula, often confiscated by Israeli forces—has become Herculean.

The stories of Mohammed, Islam, and Mutaz underscore a critical dimension often lost in war reporting: the enduring, unseen pain of fathers thrust into roles they never imagined. They are grieving husbands, profoundly changed men who now stand alone between their children and a shattered world. Recognizing their struggle is not just an act of empathy—it’s a step toward fully understanding the human cost of Gaza’s ongoing tragedy.

Source: The New Arab