Gaza’s Twins, Come Back to Me

When the Israeli army invades the Gaza Strip in 2023, Rania is eight months pregnant. She gives birth to triplets just as her hometown in northern Gaza is bombed. One girl dies at birth, while the other two babies, Jowan and her brother Hamoud, are so weak that they have to be placed in an incubator. When the hospital is evacuated, the twins are moved to southern Gaza, where Rania’s sister Nisreen takes over their care. A travel ban prevents the babies from returning to their mother.

It's nothing out of the ordinary—just another Gazan family torn apart by war. The story told here by director Mohammed Sawwaf illustrates how the conflict affects every Palestinian. But first and foremost, Rania herself, who can only watch her newborns grow up on video. Her family, forced to flee five times during this period, and her sister Nisreen, who becomes ever more attached to the twins. And the babies themselves, with Hamoud clearly in need of extra care. Strong family ties provide a lifeline time and time again—but for how much longer?