From Gaza’s Airstrikes to Mexico City Streets

Mohammed Abed, a 36-year-old systems engineer, fled Gaza after the 2025 Israeli bombing campaign that killed his four-year-old daughter. His father, Kamal Abed, had emigrated to Mexico more than a decade earlier and obtained citizenship. Following Kamal’s death in 2024, Abed’s brother Shadi secured travel authorizations with the help of Mexican civil-society groups and asylum lawyers. After months of paperwork, the family crossed into Jordan, transited Turkey, and arrived in Mexico City in the spring of 2025, where they were granted permanent residency. Official figures place the Palestinian community in Mexico at roughly 160 people, roughly doubling the population since 2022. The war in Gaza has displaced nearly 1.9 million people overall.

Al Monitor

To support his family, Abed loads a motorized tricycle before sunrise and sells hummus, baba ganoush, falafel, shawarma, and kebab at an open-air market in Condesa. On Sundays he moves to another market, and when not vending he assists his wife with catered Palestinian banquets. His younger brother Fadi also operates a food stall, expanding the family’s culinary presence. Abed’s Instagram account “hijo.de.palestina” has attracted 48 000 followers, who watch videos of his growing enterprise narrated in heavily accented Spanish.

Al Monitor

Customers are drawn both to the flavors and to Abed’s personal story of loss and resilience. In May, his youngest son Yusuf was born in Mexico City, automatically receiving Mexican citizenship. The family continues to seek ways to reunite with two sisters still in Gaza.

Al Monitor

• “In Gaza, during the war, hearing a plane meant that something terrible could happen at any moment,” — Mohammed Abed, a Palestinian systems engineer from Gaza

Al Monitor

• “He was born in Mexico but carries the roots of Gaza in his heart," Abed said.” — Mohammed Abed, a Palestinian systems engineer from Gaza

Al Monitor