A mother's traumatic journey through childbirth under Israeli bombing

Heba Labbad, a 27-year-old mother of three, describes to Middle East Eye's correspondent Aseel Mousa the terrorising experience of being a pregnant woman having to quit her home, of giving birth amid the paralysing sounds of Israeli bombing and being separated from her husband after he was detained by the Israeli military.

When the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip started, I was nine months pregnant, suffering through pregnancy pains, fatigue and exhaustion. 

The relentless bombing only intensified my distress, adding fear and tension to my already difficult pregnancy. My thoughts were consumed by concern for the well-being of my two young children, Leen, five, and Hassan, three, as well as for the unborn child in my womb.

On 7 October, my husband, our children, and I were forced to flee our home in al-Nasr neighbourhood in northern Gaza, seeking refuge in Beit Lahia. The sound of explosions from the Israeli bombing was relentless. In addition to the continual threat of death, we also faced severe shortages of food, drinkable water, and cooking gas, exacerbating the challenges we were already enduring.

Full story: A mother's traumatic journey through childbirth under Israeli bombing