Former One Direction singer Zayn Malik and US model Gigi Hadid have welcomed a "healthy and beautiful" baby girl. [Source: BBC]

Former One Direction singer Zayn Malik and US model Gigi Hadid have welcomed a “healthy and beautiful” baby girl.

Announcing the birth on Twitter, Malik, 27, shared a black-and-white picture of the baby girl’s tiny hand clutching his finger.

He wrote alongside the image: “The love I feel for this tiny human is beyond my understanding.”

Hadid, 25, confirmed she was expecting in April while appearing on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

She told the US chat show host that she and Malik were “happy and grateful for everyone’s well wishes and support”.

The couple have been dating on and off since late 2015.