From war-torn south Lebanon to new life: Twins born amid displacement in Sidon

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Lebanon 19-04-2026 | 13:06

From war-torn south Lebanon to new life: Twins born amid displacement in Sidon

Amid destruction, displacement, and hardship in southern Lebanon, a displaced mother gives birth to twin boys in a shelter classroom in Sidon—turning a story of war into one of resilience and hope.
Ahmad Mantash
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From war-torn south Lebanon to new life: Twins born amid displacement in Sidon
The two children, Muhammad and Mahdi. (Ahmad Mantash)
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Despite the war, displacement, and the hardships on the public road from Aadshit Al-Qusayr to Sidon, I feel happy about the birth of the twins Muhammad and Mahdi, after 19 years since the birth of a boy and a girl.

 

From the town of Aadshit Al-Qusayr in the Marjayoun district, which was invaded by Israeli occupation forces after most of its houses were destroyed, to the buildings of the Lebanese University’s fifth branch in Sidon, the Souaiden family found themselves inside a lecture hall in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities building, alongside hundreds of southern families forcibly displaced amid Israeli raids on the villages and towns of the South and Nabatieh governorates, targeting both people and infrastructure.

 

 

The children Mohammad and Mehdi. (Ahmad Mantash)
The children Mohammad and Mehdi. (Ahmad Mantash)

 

 

Souaiden’s wife, Ghada Mohammad Fadel, was eight months pregnant, and a few days after arriving in Sidon, she began to feel labor pains. She was immediately transferred to Sidon Governmental Hospital, where, following a Caesarean section, she gave birth to twins named Mohammad and Mehdi.

 

 

 

 

Fadil told "An-Nahar" as she sat beside her children on a foam mattress in a corner of the lecture hall that houses several displaced families from Tyre and its neighboring villages, "It's the second time we've been displaced from the town. The first time was during the war in 2023, and the second time was on March 2 this year, when we were forced to evacuate our home and leave the town urgently after the Israeli threat of bombing. I was eight months pregnant, and it seems the ordeal along the road led to giving birth a month early. Despite this difficult situation, I am happy for the birth of Mohammad and Mehdi, 19 years after having my first son, who is now 19, and a daughter, 17. What saddens and pains me the most is the bombing that destroyed our house completely, especially the beds, clothes, and toys that I personally picked for the newborns while they were still in my womb."

 

 

Tags
Lebanon ، Israel ، Sidon ، twins ، displacement ، south Lebanon