'Miracle' baby born in Gaza after airstrike kills heavily pregnant mother

Pregnant woman dies in Israeli airstrike, baby miraculously survives in war-torn Gaza.

Nine months pregnant, Ola Al-Kurd could not wait to hold her baby and bring new life to Gaza during a war which has killed over 39,000 fellow Palestinians and razed much of the enclave.

That special moment never came.

An Israeli airstrike smashed into the family home in Al-Nuseirat in central Gaza on July 19, according to her father Adnan Al-Kurd. The blast threw Ola down several floors to her death in the house, whose inhabitants included women, children and the elderly, he said.

Somehow, her baby survived, as did her husband, who was hospitalised.

"It’s a miracle that the fetus stayed alive inside of her when she was martyred (died)," Adnan Al-Kurd said, contemplating a photo of his daughter's graduation.

The explosion, like many others, killed several members of a single family, a daily tragedy across Gaza since Israel began its offensive in Gaza in response to a devastating cross-border attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on Oct. 7 last year.

Mediators from the United States, Qatar and Egypt have failed in multiple attempts to secure a ceasefire. So it is highly unlikely that Israeli airstrikes and shelling will end anytime soon.