Naifa al-Sawada was born in 1932, before the State of Israel existed.
Her family was originally from Gaza, but her father worked as a merchant in Bir al-Saba, a Negev city in eastern Gaza. In 1948, they were forced to move to Gaza. 800,000 Palestinians were expelled from their villages and towns between 1947 and 1949.
Naifa had four daughters and six sons and lived in northern Gaza, across from Al-Shifa Hospital, with one of her sons. Now 92, she suffered from Alzheimer's and was completely dependent on her family for food and transportation.
On March 21, 2024, Israeli soldiers invaded the area, entered the house, and separated the women from the men. The men were taken into custody after being forced to strip and beaten.
The women were forced to flee south on foot. The soldiers did not allow Naifa's daughter-in-law to enter the room where she was being held to take her and the women.
After two weeks, the family searched for Naifa in hospital morgues, but they could not find her. When they returned to their home, which had been burned, they found Naifa's bones in the room where they had left her.
Naifa's history in one page: 010 Naifa english.pdf
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