Amid Israel's ongoing 22-month-long genocide in Gaza, the nightmarish conditions imposed by Israel have affected all segments of society.
This includes photographers, who have understandably focused their lenses on Gaza's starving children, whether queuing at charity soup kitchens or wandering dazed among the rubble of their homes.
Others have concentrated on distraught women, grieving for their dead children or carrying heavy belongings as they endure repeated displacement.
Gaza's grieving husbands and fathers, however, have largely been overlooked. Left to carry on with daily family life, they must do so without their wives, after Israel’s war machine killed them, leaving tens of thousands of children without their mothers’ care.
As well as trying to provide what little food they can to ease their children's hunger, Gaza's fathers are struggling to find milk for their babies after Israel confiscated baby formula from the luggage of doctors entering Gaza, while also taking on washing and other tasks they once relied on their wives for.
Many used to return to warm homes, filled with the smell of fresh bread and the care of their wives. Today, everything has changed.
'I am heartbroken'
For 47-year-old Mohammed Anwar al-Doush, who sits in a school-turned-shelter in the Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza City, it is impossible to believe that his wife, Warda Naim Arouq, and his daughter are gone. They were both killed in an airstrike that targeted their home on 17 November 2023.
"My wife and daughter were martyred, and I have been left with two sons and one daughter. Since that day, the world has turned black," Mohammed told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister edition.
Mohammed explained that before his wife’s death, he did not know how to do housework or raise the children.
"But after her death, reality has changed a lot for me. It's difficult, and I can't get used to it," he added, noting that he now washes the family's clothes by hand, kneads dough for bread, and cooks.
"The biggest disaster is that I can't meet any of my children's needs, especially since we're still displaced and living in a classroom in a shelter. Everything I give them doesn't make up even 10 per cent of what their mother did," he continued.
In a voice heavy with pain, he said life can never return to normal and shared, "I am heartbroken… she was my other half."
'I cannot replace my girls' mother'
The hardships faced by Gaza's men are made worse by the catastrophic living conditions across the Strip, caused by Israel's policy of systematic starvation, alongside relentless bombardment and attacks on civilians.
Under these conditions, providing even a single meal a day for a family is a daunting task, made worse by repeated forced displacements during each military operation.
Psychiatrist Islam Shreiteh, 40, lost his wife, Nesma al-Wakil, in an airstrike that targeted their family home in the Sabra neighbourhood of southern Gaza City on 23 May 2025.
"I was with them minutes before," he said. "Then, a zanana (Israeli drone) fired a missile at them… my wife, my brother, and his wife were all killed."
Islam describes "the huge void" left by Nesma's death, adding that he now looks after his two sons and daughter, handling "over 80 per cent" of the daily tasks that were once shared, including washing, cooking, and caring for the children.
He explained, "The death of a wife is something difficult, and no one who hasn't experienced the loss of their wife could comprehend the feeling. She was the backbone of the household, my other half, and she completed me. She was the first to sense how I felt, and she was the true teacher of our children. Her loss leaves a hole inside me that can’t be filled. Seventeen years of unforgettable friendship. The loss is impossible to bear."
Similar to Islam, Mutaz Ziada, 41, also lost his wife, Sahar Ziada, who was targeted while carrying a white flag as she made her way home in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, trying to fetch provisions for their children.
"We were besieged for three days with no water or food at Kamal Adwan Hospital during the Israeli military operation last month. My wife went to get something to feed our children and never returned," Mutaz said.
As Mutaz explained, Sahar was killed by an Israeli drone at midday while walking with other women who had set out for the same purpose, leaving her four daughters and husband behind.
"Since then, I've taken care of everything, from collecting water to cooking and washing," he added, noting that his family has been displaced more than ten times and is now living in a tent in the southern Gaza City neighbourhood of Rimal.
"We only have a one-gallon container for water, and I have to walk three kilometres to fill it," he continued, explaining that life has become "hell" for him and his daughters since the death of his wife, who was "half the household."
"I can't protect my daughters from anything. Women aren't just wives – they are half of this society and its beating heart – and I have now become mother, father, guard, and baker, but whatever I do, I cannot replace my girls' mother," he said.
Everyday battles
The horror stories are endless for those who have no space to grieve their unimaginable losses, yet are forced to take on even greater responsibilities under the most harrowing circumstances to protect the family they still have left.
Now living in a tent near the port, Mohammed Al-Derini, 39, also lost his wife, Hala Kassab, in a bombing that targeted their neighbour's house in Jabalia in mid-November 2023. She was killed while standing next to their baby son.
Mohammed has four children, three of whom live with him, but because his youngest son "needs his mother," he has to leave him with his mother or sister, who live in a nearby tent.
He explained that everything has become a challenge in his wife's absence, as he battles daily to find food and search for shelter during the frequent displacements.
"The children need care and affection, but I am not their mother, and I cannot replace her, though I try to meet their needs every day," he explained.
Another tragic story is that of Kamal Awni Al-Barawi, 38, who lost his wife and four children when their home in Beit Lahia was bombed on 22 February 2024.
"We were displaced to Abu Tamam School in Beit Lahia, and we received information that the occupation forces had withdrawn from the area where we lived. We went home, as did other residents. But just three days later, at 7:30 am, Israeli warplanes bombed the six-story apartment building. My wife and four of our children were killed, while my 12-year-old son, Ghassan, and I miraculously survived," he said.
Today, after repeated displacement, Kamal and his son Ghassan are sheltering in a school, and his days are spent trying to secure enough food and water for his son.
"I don't know how to cook. My wife was always responsible for that. Today, I don't know where to begin, and every day feels like a year," he noted.
According to the latest figures, Gaza's Health Ministry reported that the Israeli aggression has resulted in the deaths of over 61,599 people and has left over 154,088 wounded.
Women and children together represent 70 per cent of Gaza's dead in this genocide.
This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition. To read the original article click here.
Translated by Rose Chacko
This article is taken from our Arabic sister publication, Al-Araby Al Jadeed and mirrors the source's original editorial guidelines and reporting policies. Any requests for correction or comment will be forwarded to the original authors and editors
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