Refaat Alareer was a 44-year-old Palestinian literature professor, writer, and poet.
He lived in Gaza City, in the Shujaiya neighborhood, with his wife and six children, ages 7 to 21.
He was a literature professor at the Islamic University of Gaza and had earned degrees in English Philology from the Islamic University of Gaza, a Master's degree from University College London, and a PhD from Putra University in Malaysia. Much of his writing was dedicated to promoting the historical memory of Palestine through "storytellers." He was co-founder of the association "We Are Not Numbers.".
During the 2014 war against Gaza, Israel killed more than 30 members of his family. At the beginning of the current war, in October 2023, he received multiple death threats from Israeli online accounts and on his mobile phone.
He traveled with his family to a UNRWA school in Gaza City. He then received a threat, telling him that they knew the school where he was staying. This prompted him to move to his sister's house.
On December 6, 2023, while he was with his sister, brother, and four nephews, Israel launched a precision strike against the apartment where they were staying. Shortly before, he had composed his last poem: "If I must die, you must live...to make a white kite with a white tail...so that a child...as he looks at the sky." ...see the comet...and think for a moment that there is an angel there bringing back the love.” In April 2024, Israel killed his eldest daughter and newborn grandson.
Refaat's history in one page: 013 Reefat english.pdf
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