Mother’s Day arrives in Gaza without celebration, marked only by hunger, grief and the enduring pain of mothers still searching for their missing children.

In worn tents across Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Palestinian mothers spend the day mourning sons killed in Israeli strikes, waiting for news of detained or missing relatives and struggling to keep their families alive amid war, displacement and deepening famine.

While several countries, including Türkiye, observe Mother’s Day on Sunday, many mothers in Gaza say their hopes have narrowed to survival, seeking only safety, food and the chance to shield their children from death and repeated displacement.

According to U.N. Women, more than 22,000 women and nearly 16,000 girls have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.

Data from Gaza’s Government Media Office and the United Nations Population Fund show that more than 22,000 women have lost their husbands during the war, while about 55,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women face severe health risks amid the collapse of Gaza’s health care system and worsening malnutrition.

More than 90% of Gaza’s population has also been displaced, many multiple times, according to the United Nations and international relief agencies.

‘He is the air I breathe’

Inside a small tent offering little protection from heat or cold, displaced mother Widad al-Najjar recalls a long journey of displacement that began in the first days of the war after fleeing her hometown of Khuzaa, east of Khan Younis.

She told Anadolu Agency (AA) that her family has been displaced more than six times while searching for safety.

"We lost our homes, our relatives and everything we owned,” she said. "Nothing is left except memories.”

But her deepest pain is the disappearance of her only son, born after six daughters.

Najjar said she lost contact with him during the first months of the war and has lived ever since between hope that he is still alive and fear that she may never see him again.

"All I want is to know his fate,” she said. "Was he killed or taken prisoner? I just want an answer that can calm my heart.”

"I cannot live without him. He is the air I breathe,” she added. "Without him, I have no life.”

‘Our hearts are broken’

In another displacement camp in Khan Younis, mother Huda al-Madani lives between grief over the killing of her son Ibrahim and constant fear for her other son Ahmad, who has been held in Israeli prisons for more than two years.

Madani said Ibrahim was killed during the war in Gaza, leaving behind five children, while Ahmad has not yet seen his young son, who was born after his detention and is now nearly three years old.

"The child constantly asks about his father and wants to see him like other children do,” she said. "Our hearts are broken, and we wait for any news about him.”

For many displaced mothers, suffering extends beyond loss into a daily struggle for survival amid severe shortages of food, water and income.

Umm Mahmoud Baraka, a widow and mother of four, said she has been left alone to provide for her family after her husband was killed.

"I became both a mother and a father at the same time,” she told AA.

"We are trying to stay alive amid hunger, fear and the absence of the most basic necessities of life,” she added.

Since the cease-fire took effect, Israeli forces have killed around 850 Palestinians and injured 2,433 others through continued strikes and gunfire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The agreement followed two years of war that began in October 2023, which Gaza officials say has killed more than 72,000 people and injured over 172,000, while causing widespread destruction that affected 90% of civilian infrastructure.