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Writers* Killed in Gaza by Israeli Attacks
Since October 2023
This is a list of writers killed in Gaza, many of them by what seems like specifically targeted attacks.
Author |
Note |
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The last
statement to the outside world of poet and writer Nour al-Din Hajjaj’s before
he was killed on 3 December 2023 was: “My name is Nour al Din Hajjaj, I am a
Palestinian writer, I am twenty-seven years old and I have many dreams. I am
not a number and I do not consent to my death being passing news. Say, too,
that I love life, happiness, freedom, children’s laughter, the sea, coffee,
writing …” Hajjaj actively participated in the Cordoba Association and the
Days of Theater Foundation. His works include the play, The Gray Ones (2022)
and the novel, Wings That Do Not Fly (2021). |
Shahadah Al-Buhbahan |
Poet and
educational researcher, along with his granddaughter, Prof Al-Buhbahan was killed
in Gaza on 24 October 2023. He was a
man of literature, excelling as an
academic. He was loved by his family, relatives and neighbours in Al-Bureij
refugee camp. He completed his university education in Cairo, worked as a
teacher in Libya for several years, then returned to Gaza to continue
teaching and pursue higher studies. He authored several poetry collections
celebrated by students in Gaza schools. On 24 October 2023, he was killed
along with his wife, daughters, son, and grandson. |
Yusuf
Dawas |
Young
artist and writer, who was also a guitarist and active participant in the ‘We
Are Not Numbers’ initiative documenting the suffering of the Palestinian
people under Israeli occupation, was martyred. He wrote in both Arabic and
English and produced several videos discussing various topics, including his
dream of traveling and exploring the world, a dream that many young people in
Gaza Harbor, especially given the more than sixteen years of the blockade
imposed on them by the Israeli occupation. |
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The poet Omar Faris Abu Shaweesh (36) was martyred on October 7th during the shelling of the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza. He was a prominent community activist and made various contributions in social, youth, cultural, and intellectual spheres. He co-founded several youth associations and organizations and received the Outstanding Arab Youth Award from the Arab Youth Council for Integrated Development, affiliated with the Arab League. |
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The writer and poet, Heba
Kamal Saleh Abu Nada (32 years old), was martyred on October 20th. She was a
refugee from the displaced and destroyed village of Beit Jirja in 1948. She
wrote stories, novels, and poetry. She is the author of Oxygen is Not for the Dead (2017), for which she was
awarded the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity.Her
last poem, published on her last
Facebook post (8 Oct) before she was killed by Israeli bombs at Khan Younis,
stated: “The night in the city is dark, except for the glow of the missiles;
silent, except for the sound of the bombing; terrifying, except for the
reassuring promise of prayer; black, except for the light of the martyrs. Good night.” |
Said
Al-Dahshan |
The
writer, and his family were martyred
on October 11. Al-Dahshan was an expert in international law and had authored
many works and research specialized in Palestinian affairs. His book, How
to Sue Israel, outlined a legal strategy for holding Israel
accountable for its violations of international law. |
Abdul
Karim Al-Hashash |
The
writer and Palestinian heritage advocate Abdul Karim Al-Hashash (76), along
with many of his family members, was killed on October 23 in the city of
Rafah. Al-Hashash was known for his writings on Palestinian folk heritage and
his research on Bedouin heritage, customs, and Arab proverbs. He also
collected dozens of rare books about Palestine, its history, and its heritage
in his library. |
Saleem
Al-Naffar |
Top poet Saleem Al-Naffar advocated for peaceful resistance and
whose poetry expressed the struggle of Palestinians to survive and to be
remembered in history. He and his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike
on their home in Gaza City on Dec. 7. In
1994, his family returned to Gaza, where he published poetry collections,
novels, and an autobiography in Arabic. |
Abdullah
Al-Aqad |
With
his wife and four children, Al-Aqad was slain on 16 October 2023 by the Zionist
bombardment of his house in Khan Younis city. |
Mustafa
Al-Sawwaf |
Writer
and journalist Mustafa Hassan Mahmoud Al-Sawwaf (68) was the first editor-in-chief of the first daily
newspaper published in the Gaza Strip, which he also founded. He and several members of his
family was killed due to the Israeli occupation’s shelling of his home in eastern Gaza
on 18 November 2023. Al-Sawwaf is one of the most prominent Palestinian
journalists and
analysts. He served as the editor-in-chief of several newspapers/ His
collection of political short stories is entitled, There Was a Householder (2017). |
Dr Refaat
Alareer |
Dr.
Alareer was a beloved professor of literature and creative writing at
the Islamic University of Gaza, where he taught since 2007. On 7 December
2023, Alareer (44) was killed together with his brother and sister and four
of her children in a targeted Israeli attack on his home. One of his notable
works is the collection of short stories, Gaza Writes Back, in which
young writers, writing in English, seek to bring their stories to a wider
audience. |
Inas
al-Saqa |
Inas
al-Saqa, a celebrated playwright, actor, and educator who worked extensively
in children’s theatre, was killed by an Israeli airstrike late October
alongside three of her children—Sara, Leen, and Ibrahim. Saqa and her
five children were sheltering in a building in Gaza City when it was hit by
an Israeli air strike. Two of her children, Farah and Ritta, survived
the attack but are critically injured and in intensive care. In this article,
the Palestinian Ministry of Culture mourned the loss, noting Inas's profound
contributions to the theatre community: https://bnnbreaking.com/arts/a-tragic-curtain-call-remembering-palestinian-actress-inas-al-saqa/.
Saqa appeared in the 2014 Palestinian film Sara, She also
appeared in the film The Homeland’s Sparrow, which was produced in Gaza and
directed by Mustafa al-Nabih. Saqa is also remembered for her cultural work,
including her association with theatre groups within Gaza. |
Dr. Jihad Suleiman Al-Masri |
Dr. Jihad Suleiman
Al-Masri was a historian and university professor who wrote on Islamic
history and Palestinian oral traditions. He died on October 17, after succumbing
to injuries sustained in the Israeli shelling of Khan Yunis. He had been on
his way to join his wife and daughter at the time of the attack. He served as the director of Al-Quds Open
University’s Khan Yunis branch. |
|
Saleem Al-Naffar was
a renowned poet who advocated for peaceful resistance and whose poetry
expressed the struggle of Palestinians to survive and to be remembered in
history. On Dec. 7, Al-Naffar and his family were killed in an Israeli
airstrike on their home in GAZA. Born in a refugee camp in Gaza, Al-Naffar
fled with his family during the 1967 war to Syria. But he returned in
1994, and went on to published poetry collections, novels, and an
autobiography in Arabic. His poem Life reads, “Knives
might eat / what remains of my ribs, / machines might smash / what remains of
stones, / but life is coming, / for that is its way, / creating life even for
us.” |
Hamza Abyan |
Hamza Abyan, a
19-year-old student of translation, faced life's challenges with resilience
and ambition despite being orphaned by his father. Dreaming of literary
success, he excelled in writing poetry and novels, aspiring to publish his
first book. However, Israeli bombings fell in front of his house in Gaza. He
and his family fled to the southern Gaza Strip in search of safety. But,
their refuge was not spared as Israeli aircraft bombed their shelter,
claiming the lives of Hamza and his family on 26th October 2023. |
Yousef Maher Dawas |
Yousef Maher Dawas
was a young Heialt and writer. Yousef was studying to be a psychoanalyst. In
January 2023, he published an essay entitled “Who will pay for the 20 years
we lost?” In this essay, he recounts the destruction of his family’s orchard
by an Israeli missile strike in May 2022. He died alongside members of his
family in the northern town of Beit Lahia on Saturday, 14th October 2023. We
Are Not Numbers, a collective he belonged to, announced his death on Twitter. |
Sources: They Have Names; They Had
Dreams (https://theyhavenames.net/they-had-dreams/); The Literary Hub
(https://lithub.com/these-are-the-poets-and-writers-who-have-been-killed-in-gaza/);
Ministry of Health in Gaza.
* Note:
This is not a comprehensive list.
* Note:
The writers featured here are those who formed part of the literature
community. Journalists and most academics are not included in this list. All
the writers featured here are Palestinian. A search for Jewish writers killed
since October 2023 did not reveal any names.
FM
15/2/2024