Gaza 'Grandmother' Adopts Orphaned Baby After Tragic Air Strike

When Maha lost her husband and son in a tragic accident, she never expected to find herself raising another child. Yet that's exactly what happened when she decided to adopt Hamza, a baby born the same day his parents were killed in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip.

Maha had always been known as 'Grandmother' in her large, close-knit family. But after the devastating loss of her loved ones, she opened her heart and her home to the newborn Hamza, whose parents perished in the bombing that took place just hours after his birth.

"I will call him Mama," Maha says with a warm smile, cradling the infant in her arms. "He is my son now." The 65-year-old grandmother has become an unlikely savior for the baby boy, providing him with the love and stability he lost when his parents were killed.

Hamza's father, Ahmad, was a popular local imam who had just celebrated the birth of his son when the air strike hit. His mother, Aisha, was killed instantly. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Maha knew she had to step in to care for the orphaned newborn.

"I couldn't let him go to an orphanage," Maha explains. "He needed a mother's love. And I needed him too, after losing my family." The transition has not been easy, as Maha adjusts to the demands of caring for an infant after so many years. But she is determined to give Hamza the life his parents can no longer provide.

As Hamza grows, Maha hopes to tell him stories about his parents and their devotion to their faith and community. "I want him to know where he came from," she says. "And I want him to call me Mama."

The tragedy that brought them together has forever changed both of their lives. But in the midst of unimaginable loss, Maha has found a new sense of purpose - and a son to call her own.