Mahmoud Khalil is originally from Syria. He was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, Syria, to Palestinian parents. He holds Algerian citizenship through his mother's family, who have Algerian ancestry. His family has Palestinian roots, with his grandparents having lived in Tiberias, Palestine before being forced to flee during the 1948 Nakba. Khalil grew up in Syria and later moved to Lebanon, where he completed his bachelor's degree. He then moved to the United States for graduate studies at Columbia University. Thus, he is Syrian-born of Palestinian origin with Algerian citizenship.
