{"id":6519,"date":"2026-05-07T11:35:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T11:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/the-gaza-journalist-killed-on-the-day-his-daughter-was-born\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T11:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T11:35:32","slug":"the-gaza-journalist-killed-on-the-day-his-daughter-was-born","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/the-gaza-journalist-killed-on-the-day-his-daughter-was-born\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gaza journalist killed on the day his daughter was born"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p><strong>Gaza City, Gaza Strip \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>May 7, 2025, was the day Amal Sobeih\u2019s daughter was born. It was also the day her husband was killed.<\/p>\n<p>Yahya Sobeih saw little Sana come into the world. At six in the morning, he took Amal to the hospital as she struggled through labour pains.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/5\/6\/in-rare-push-us-lawmakers-demand-transparency-on-israel-nuclear-capability\">In rare push, US lawmakers demand transparency on Israel nuclear capability<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/5\/6\/israeli-strike-kills-colonel-in-gaza-police-force-say-palestinian-medics\">Israeli strike kills colonel in Gaza police force, say Palestinian medics<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/5\/6\/shoot-palestinians-not-settlers-israeli-general-exposes-double-standard\">Shoot Palestinians, not settlers: Israeli general exposes double standard<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>At the time, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/5\/3\/israel-threatens-gaza-war-resumption-to-force-disarmament-as-truce-frays\">Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza<\/a> was still raging, and military strikes across the enclave had not stopped.<\/p>\n<p>But the couple were filled with excitement as they prepared to welcome their third child, and the first sister to their two sons, Baraa and Kenan, who were four and three at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Amal explains that doctors told her she needed an emergency caesarean section after she arrived in the hospital, but aside from that, the delivery went smoothly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a perfect day at the beginning \u2026 the delivery went quickly, the baby was healthy, and everyone was happy,\u201d Amal says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYahya was overjoyed. He carried his daughter and kept telling everyone, \u2018My beautiful princess is here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He went on to spend several hours with his wife and newborn daughter. He checked on them, recited the Islamic call to prayer into the baby\u2019s ears, took photos of her, and welcomed relatives who arrived to congratulate him.<\/p>\n<p>Before leaving, Yahya told Amal he would step out briefly and return soon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked me to rest and take care of myself. He said he would check on our two boys at home and bring some supplies for the baby, then come back so we could choose a name together,\u201d Amal recalls. \u201cUnfortunately, I did not know that would be the last time we would ever see Yahya.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yahya, who worked as a journalist, survived for five hours after the birth of his baby daughter, whose photo he proudly shared on social media while holding her in his arms.<\/p>\n<p>Later that day, Yahya was killed in an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/5\/7\/israeli-attacks-kill-at-least-16-as-gaza-blockade-accelerates-starvation\">Israeli air strike<\/a> targeting a commercial area in central Gaza City. The strike killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4552160\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4552160\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/873A0065-1778120355.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Little Sana, whose birth coincided with the death of her father, Yehiya Sbeih, last year, at her family home in central Gaza City [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/ Al Jazeera]\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4552160\">Sana, whose birth last year coincided with the death of her father, Yahya Sobeih, at her family home in central Gaza City [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"shocking-news\">Shocking news<\/h2>\n<p>Relatives gathered around Amal in the hospital were unsure how to break the news to her, so soon after she had given birth.<\/p>\n<p>Their only concern was how they would tell her while she remained in such a fragile physical and emotional state after delivery.<\/p>\n<p>But she knew something was up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were constant phone calls, tense faces, conversations that suddenly stopped whenever I came close. Even the medical staff kept checking on me, and my mother was whispering all the time,\u201d Amal says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI kept asking my mother, \u2018Is something wrong? What\u2019s happening?\u2019 But nobody answered me clearly. Everyone spoke in a strange way,\u201d she explains.\u00a0\u201cI picked up my phone and immediately called Yahya. I called more than 15 times, but he never answered, which was unlike him. He always answered me immediately or at least sent a message.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She only found out what had happened after she accessed the internet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe headline appeared right in front of me: \u2018Journalist Yahya Sobeih killed five hours after welcoming his newborn daughter,\u2019\u201d Amal says through tears. \u201cI felt the blood freeze in my veins. I screamed uncontrollably because I could not believe it. I felt like I was losing my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yahya had been attacked while distributing sweets to relatives and friends in celebration of his daughter\u2019s birth. Among those killed with him were his cousin, his closest friend and his brother-in-law \u2013 the same people who had been in the hospital only hours earlier congratulating him, holding the baby and taking photos.<\/p>\n<p>Amal says the shock was not only in losing him, but also in being unable to say goodbye. Still recovering from surgery, she was forced to remain lying in bed for hours.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just wanted to see him one last time \u2026 to touch him, to say goodbye \u2026 but I couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4552170\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4552170\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/873A0174-1778120640.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"The father was killed five hours after his daughter was born, after seeing her and holding her in his arms at the hospital that day [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4552170\">Yahya Sobeih was killed five hours after his daughter was born. He was able to hold her and take photographs with her before leaving the hospital [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"a-year-of-grief\">A year of grief<\/h2>\n<p>Amal had already lost her brother, his wife, and their three children in the war, as well as her sister and her four children, all killed in Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n<p>But Amal calls the past 12 months, since the death of Yahya, \u201cthe year of grief\u201d. She says she has battled through not one war, but two: the ongoing military conflict itself and the struggle of raising her children alone.<\/p>\n<p>Yahya\u2019s sudden absence forced Amal into a reality she had never imagined, even though he had often prepared her for the possibility that he could be killed at any moment because of his work as a field journalist covering the war.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery time I heard about a journalist being killed, I felt terrified,\u201d Amal says tearfully. \u201cBut I never imagined I would lose him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Only a few months after Yahya\u2019s death, Amal was displaced with her three children to southern Gaza after the Israeli military announced a ground operation in Gaza City last September.<\/p>\n<p>She describes the suffering of searching for shelter and living in a tent under harsh conditions with a four-month-old baby and two young boys who were still struggling to understand their father\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYahya was a source of support, a wonderful husband and father. We never lacked anything with him around, even during the war,\u201d she says. \u201cDuring the famine, he searched for food and paid whatever he could for his children. Losing him under such circumstances was unimaginably painful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gradually, Amal realised she had to become both mother and father to her children.<\/p>\n<p>Despite her grief, she decided to continue her husband\u2019s path and began working for the same media company he worked for.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI try to continue my husband\u2019s message, to stay strong for myself and for my children,\u201d Amal says while holding them close.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI try to escape the painful questions my children constantly ask: \u2018Where is dad? When is dad coming back?\u2019 Working in a similar field to their father may comfort them a little, but nothing can replace his absence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What pains Amal most is thinking about little Sana, who has just turned one, and wondering how she will one day explain to her daughter that the day she was born was also the day she lost her father.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always look at my daughter\u2019s face and find something of her father in her \u2026 in her features, in her smile, even in the way she comes close to me whenever I cry,\u201d Amal says while holding Sana in her arms. \u201cShe hugs me as if she is comforting me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was very hesitant about celebrating Sana\u2019s birthday today,\u201d she adds, with a birthday cake and a few sweets she prepared in an attempt to bring joy to her children next to her, as well as her late husband\u2019s photo. \u201cBut in the end, I decided to move forward, even if it is only something simple.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Yahya were here, he would have celebrated her \u2026 Sana carries no blame.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4552179\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4552179\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/873A9893-1778120863.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"The family decided to celebrate Sana\u2019s first birthday despite the deep grief over the loss of the father on the same date [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4552179\">The Sobeih family decided to celebrate Sana\u2019s first birthday despite their deep grief over the loss of Yahya Sobeih on the same date [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gaza City, Gaza Strip \u2013\u00a0May 7, 2025, was the day Amal Sobeih\u2019s daughter was born. It was also the day her husband was killed. Yahya Sobeih saw little Sana come into the world. At six in the morning, he took Amal to the hospital as she struggled through labour pains. Recommended Stories list of 3 &#8230; <a title=\"The Gaza journalist killed on the day his daughter was born\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/the-gaza-journalist-killed-on-the-day-his-daughter-was-born\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about The Gaza journalist killed on the day his daughter was born\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}