Heba Kamal Abu Nada was a 32-year-old Palestinian woman living in Gaza City.
Heba's family came from Beit Jirja, a village 15 kilometers north of Gaza, from where they were expelled by the Zionist forces in 1948. Her father was working as a nurse in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, when she was born. They later moved to Gaza.
Heba was the eldest of four siblings, two girls and two boys. Since both parents worked, she was responsible for taking them to daycare and school. She always had a vivid imagination and delighted her siblings by telling them stories. Her passion for language was so great that she was already composing poetry at the age of 10.
In addition to her love of literature and poetry, she devoted herself equally to higher education: she earned a degree in Biochemistry from the Islamic University of Gaza and a master's degree in clinical nutrition from Al Azhar University in Gaza.
On October 14, 2023, during Israel's offensive on Gaza, Heba's family received news that they had to evacuate their home to a "safe zone" in the south. They decided to go to an aunt's house in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. On October 20, at dusk, a missile completely destroyed a neighboring house, killing an entire family of seven with five children, and also destroyed half of Heba's aunt's house.
Heba was trapped in the rubble. When they managed to rescue her, they took her to the European Hospital, where she arrived dead. A few days earlier he wrote the poem: The night in the city is dark, except for the glimmer of missiles,/ Silent, except for the sound of bombing./ Terrifying, except for the reassuring promise of prayer./ Black, except for the light of martyrs./ Good night, Gaza.
Heba's history in one page: 018_Heba_ingles.pdf
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