From Gaza to Mexico.. A Palestinian turns food into a story of resilience

A report on Palestinian Muhammad Abed, a 36-year-old systems engineer who was displaced from Gaza after his daughter was killed in an airstrike in 2025, and settled in Mexico with 17 family members. He sells Palestinian dishes in Mexico City markets, turning food into a means of maintaining his connection to Gaza and his culture.

A report on Palestinian Muhammad Abed, a 36-year-old systems engineer who was displaced from the Gaza Strip after his four-year-old daughter was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2025. Abed arrived in Mexico in the spring of 2025 accompanied by 17 family members, after a grueling journey through Jordan and Turkey. They now live in Mexico City, where they obtained permanent residency. Abed works selling Palestinian dishes such as hummus, baba ghanoush, falafel, shawarma, and kebab from a three-wheeled motorcycle in the Condesa neighborhood market. His father Kamal, who immigrated to Mexico over a decade ago, died of a heart attack in Egypt in 2024 while trying to arrange the family's exit. His younger brother Fadi runs a separate food project and has 48,000 followers on Instagram. Abed's youngest son Youssef was born in Mexico City in May 2025 and obtained Mexican citizenship. The report describes how Palestinian food has become a means for Abed to maintain his connection to Gaza and his culture.