Gaza Newborns Bear Names Associated with the War

A TV report on Palestinian babies named after the resistance: one father named his newborn baby girl Ghaza Tuqawim ("Gaza is fighting"), and another called his baby boy "Qassam." The report aired on the Lebanese Mayadeen TV channel on August 17, 2014.

Reporter: It was fate that prevented her from being called Mujahid, so she was named Ghaza Tuqawim ("Gaza is Fighting"). This is the name chosen by her father, after the entire family was forced to leave northern Gaza. Despite its suffering, which has lasted three wars, this family has never been remiss in naming its babies after the resistance.

Father of Ghaza Tuqawim: I named her Gaza because I was raised on this from childhood. From early childhood, I knew that my name is Nidhal ("struggle"), and I have a brother called Kifah ("fight") and another called Silah ("weapon"). I have a sister called Tahrir ("liberation"), a sister called Hurriya ("freedom"), a brother called Mujahid, a sister called Mujahida, and another brother called Jihad, who was martyred. I have a son whom I call Jihad Al-Qa'qa' after Al-Qa'qa Ibn Al-'Amr. I called my daughter Gaza after Gaza and the resistance.

Reporter: Ghaza Tuqawim is not alone. This is Qassam. He was born with the first missile launched by the Brigades, in its war with the occupation. Like the other families that were harmed by the terrible bombardment of Shuja'iyya, they emphasized their support for the resistance in their own special way.

Father of Qassam: My son was born at the exact moment when the resistance launched the missile, so I took a vow to call him Qassam. I teach my children to bear with pride the names of the resistance, Palestine, and the Gaza Strip.