Palestinians from Gaza rebuild in Mexico City through food
Mohammed Abed, a Palestinian systems engineer from Gaza who lost his 4-year-old daughter in an IDF airstrike, fled with 17 family members and now sells hummus, falafel, and shawarma in Mexico City. He is among roughly 160 Palestinians in Mexico, part of a tiny fraction of displaced Gazans who have resettled there, roughly doubling the country's Palestinian population since 2022.
Mohammed Abed, a 36-year-old Palestinian systems engineer from Gaza, lost his 4-year-old daughter in an IDF airstrike during the Gaza war. Loud noises still trigger anxiety, evoking memories of the Israeli military offensive. He fled with 17 family members, arriving in Mexico City in May 2025 after a winding journey through Jordan and Turkey. They all obtained permanent residency. Abed now sells hummus, babaganoush, falafel, shawarma, and kebab at open-air markets in the Condesa and Escandon neighborhoods. He is one of roughly 160 Palestinians in Mexico, part of a tiny fraction of the nearly 1.9 million people displaced from Gaza since the war began. This influx has roughly doubled the country's Palestinian population since 2022. His father, Kamal Abed, who had emigrated to Mexico earlier and obtained citizenship, died of a heart attack in 2024 while trying to arrange the family's evacuation. Abed's brother Shadi completed the process with help from civil organizations and asylum lawyers. Abed's younger brother Fadi also sells Palestinian food in Mexico City and has built a following of 48,000 on Instagram. Abed is trying to bring his two sisters from Gaza. His youngest son, Yusuf, was born in Mexico City in May 2026, automatically making him a Mexican citizen. Abed stated, "I don't like politics. I want to live, like everyone else, in peace."