Mohammed Lubbad has spent more than two years searching for a newborn reportedly delivered by his wife after their home was hit on October 13, 2023. Chaotic hospital transfers, missing records and an evacuation that sent premature infants to Egypt left one surviving toddler registered to another family. Mohammed insists on a DNA test to end the dispute, but Gaza currently lacks functional forensic laboratories, and investigators are calling for urgent testing or sample transfer abroad.
‘Whose Is He?’ — Gaza Father Demands DNA Test After War-Era Chaos Leaves Newborn’s Identity Uncertain
Mohammed Lubbad with his only surviving daughter, Jana, age four, the sole remaining member of his immediate family [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]
Gaza City, Gaza Strip — On October 13, 2023, an Israeli strike destroyed Mohammed Lubbad’s family home in Beit Lahiya, setting in motion a search that has consumed him for more than two years.
Transferred to the Indonesian Hospital for treatment, Mohammed, a 35-year-old computer programmer, learned fragments of what had happened to his family. One daughter survived; his five-year-old daughter Rana was killed along with his mother, his brother, his brother’s wife and their child. His wife, Amal, who was eight months pregnant, went missing amid the chaos.
Conflicting Accounts and Missing Records
Initial reports from hospital staff suggested Amal had been taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital and that a Caesarean delivery produced a healthy baby boy. Later, amid chaotic transfers and large-scale disruptions, Mohammed was told Amal had been moved to al-Shifa Hospital and died on October 22 from head trauma and abdominal wounds.
By late October Mohammed learned that a premature infant matching his son's description had been cared for among other premature babies at al-Shifa. Records were incomplete or missing, and communication blackouts made verification difficult.
Two Families, One Infant
The situation grew more fraught when another family identified a baby with similar circumstances and registered the infant under their name. Gaza’s police investigations department confirmed the dispute began after two women gave birth prematurely; both infants were placed in neonatal intensive care but many babies died during a power outage amid the siege and fighting. Testimony indicates one of the babies born to the two deceased mothers did not survive, leaving a single surviving infant at the centre of the dispute.
Mohammed Lubbad has gathered documents and testimonies that he says indicate a child recently returned to Gaza from Egypt may be his son [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]
Evacuation and Long Wait
In December 2023 the premature infants at al-Shifa were evacuated for medical reasons. Mohammed rushed to Rafah after learning the babies would be taken to a local hospital before crossing into Egypt, but he arrived too late: the children had already been evacuated to Egypt. A doctor at the Rafah hospital suggested a blood test could resolve paternity, but with the infants abroad that option was not immediately available.
More than two years later, on March 31, the evacuated toddlers returned to Gaza. Video of the arrivals shows emotional reunions — but not for Mohammed. At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis he found the child who resembled his son officially registered to the other family. A heated dispute followed; medical investigators listened to both families and noted strong similarities between their accounts.
Calls for DNA Testing
Police reports note the child wore an identification bracelet indicating registration under the other family’s name. However, investigators emphasise that many Kamal Adwan records were lost or damaged and that there is no scientific evidence currently available in Gaza to conclusively confirm the registration.
'The DNA test is the decisive factor,' Mohammed said. 'I am ready for any outcome. What matters is certainty.'
Gaza currently lacks operational forensic DNA facilities: hospitals and investigators say specialised laboratories were destroyed or rendered non-functional during the war. Police investigators have urged that either DNA testing equipment be provided inside Gaza or that samples be urgently transferred through international institutions to accredited laboratories in Egypt or Jordan so the dispute can be resolved scientifically.
Human Cost
Mohammed describes the anxiety and paralysis that the unresolved case has caused. 'Any father in my place can imagine how difficult this is,' he said. 'I’m close to a psychological breakdown that is affecting my entire life and work.' Now the sole parent of his surviving daughter, four-year-old Jana, he plans to organise a protest with relatives outside al-Shifa Hospital to press for DNA testing and clarity.
The dispute illustrates how wartime disruption, lost records and damaged infrastructure can leave families without certainty and with lasting psychological harm. Investigators say a scientific resolution is the only way to end the anguish for both families.
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