Hiba Abu Nada

Palestinian poet and novelist (1991–2023)

Hiba Abu Nada

هبة أبو ندى

Portrait of Abu Nada

Born|

Hiba Kamal Saleh Abu Nada

(1991-06-24)24 June 1991

Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Died| 20 October 2023(2023-10-20) (aged 32)

Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip

Cause of death| Israeli airstrike
Alma mater| Islamic University of Gaza;
Al-Azhar University – Gaza
Occupation(s)| Poet, novelist and nutritionist

* v
* t
* e

Israel–Hamas war

* Timeline
* Outline

Engagements

* Hamas-led attack on Israel

* Israeli female tank crew fight
* Re'im
* Sderot
* Sufa
* Israel–Hezbollah conflict
* Timeline
* Israeli invasion of Gaza
* Beit Hanoun
* Gaza City
* Jabalia
* Khan Yunis
* Shuja'iyya
* Shuja'iyya ambush
* Insurgency in the North Gaza Strip
* Hamad
* Rafah offensive
* Israeli incursions in the West Bank

Hamas-led attack on Israel

* Re'im music festival
* Killing of Shani Louk
* Netiv HaAsara
* Alumim
* Be'eri
* Holit
* Kfar Aza
* Kissufim
* Nahal Oz
* Nir Oz
* Nir Yitzhak
* Nirim
* Zikim

Israeli response

* Bombing of the Gaza Strip
* Refugee camps
* Jabalia
* 31 October
* Al-Fakhoora school
* Al-Shati
* Al-Maghazi
* Schools
* Al-Maghazi
* Al-Falah
* Palestinians evacuating Gaza
* Health facilities
* Al-Ahli Arab Hospital
* Al-Shifa Hospital
* Ambulance
* Nasser Hospital siege
* Church of Saint Porphyrius
* Sabra mosque
* Flour massacre
* Attack on journalists in Lebanon
* Friendly fire
* IDF killing of hostages in Shuja'iyya

Other minor theaters

* Red Sea crisis
* Operation Prosperity Guardian
* Attacks on the MV Maersk Hangzhou
* Operation Poseidon Archer
* Marlin Luanda missile strike
* Operation Aspides
* Sinking of the MV Rubymar
* Attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan
* Iranian airstrikes in Iraq and Syria
* Tower 22 drone attack
* Assassination of Saleh al-Arouri

See also

* Gaza humanitarian crisis
* Healthcare collapse
* Children
* Premature babies
* Famine
* Hostage crisis
* Prisoner exchange
* Israeli blockade of Gaza
* War crimes
* Torture
* Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel
* Wider regional conflict
* 2023 ceasefire
* Calls for a ceasefire
* 2024 Columbia University protests
* Antisemitism
* Anti-Palestinianism
* Mass detentions
* Misinformation
* Protests
* South Africa v. Israel
* Qatar and the Israel–Hamas war
* AI-assisted targeting
* Gaza Strip mass graves

Hiba[a] Kamal Abu Nada (Arabic: هبة كمال أبو ندى; listenⓘ; 24 June 1991 – 20 October 2023) was a Palestinian poet, novelist, nutritionist,[2] and Wikimedian.[3][additional citation(s) needed] Her novel Oxygen is not for the dead won second place in the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity in 2017.[4][5] She was killed in her home in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli airstrike in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

## Biography[edit]

Abu Nada was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on 24 June 1991 to a family of Palestinian refugees displaced by the depopulation of the village of Bayt Jirja by Israeli forces during the Nakba.[6] She received a bachelor's degree of biochemistry from Islamic University, Gaza, and a master's degree in clinical nutrition from Al-Azhar University.[7]

She worked for a time at the Rusul Center for Creativity, associated with the al-Amal Institute for Orphans.[8] According to Al-Ayyam, she was "preoccupied with justice, the uprisings of the Arab Spring, and the realities of Palestinian life under occupation."[9]

She published a number of collections of poetry, and a novel, titled al-Uksujīn laysa lil-mawtā ("Oxygen is not for the dead", Arabic: الأكسجين ليس للموتى). In 2017, she won second place in the 20th annual Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity, held by the United Arab Emirates, for her novel.[10][11] The book was republished by Dar Diwan in 2021.[12]

### Death[edit]

Some of her posts during in the first days of the war were shared and translated, becoming better known after her death. In her post on X written on October 7, at the start of Hamas-led attack on Israel, she wrote (in Arabic)[13]:

> Someone wanted to walk in the streets of his occupied city. Why is everyone so surprised? We also "see it far away and see it soon".

In her last post on X, written next day, on October 8, she wrote:[1]

> Gaza’s night is dark apart from the glow of rockets,
>  quiet apart from the sound of the bombs,
>  terrifying apart from the comfort of prayer,
>  black apart from the light of the martyrs.
> Good night, Gaza.

Writer Anthony Anaxagorou translated a poem that he reported was her last writing.[1] Physician and poet Fady Jouah translated one of her posts from 18 October:[14]

> Each of us in Gaza is either witness to or martyr for liberation. Each is waiting to see which of the two they’ll become up there with God. We have already started building a new city in Heaven.

> Doctors without patients. No one bleeds. Teachers in uncrowded classrooms. No yelling at students. New families without pain or sorrow. Journalists writing up and taking photos of eternal love. They’re all from Gaza.

> In Heaven, the new Gaza is free of siege. It is taking shape now.

On 20 October 2023, she was killed by an Israeli airstrike while at her home in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. She was 32.[15][16]

## Works[edit]

* ‏الأكسجين ليس للموتى [Oxygen is not for the dead: a novel] (in Arabic). ‏دائرة الثقافة، حكومة الشارقة،‏, al-Shāriqah. 2017. ISBN 978-9948-23-314-5. OCLC 1032289333.‏دائرة+الثقافة،+حكومة+الشارقة،‏Category:Articles+containing+Arabic-language+text,+al-Shāriqah&rft.date=2017&rft_id=info:oclcnum/1032289333&rft.isbn=978-9948-23-314-5&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Hiba+Abu+Nada" class="Z3988">
* "I Grant You Refuge". Protean Magazine. Translated by Fakhreddine, Huda. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ^ Sometimes transliterated as "Heba" in accordance with Palestinian Arabic pronunciation and regional Arabizi romanisations of Kasra see  Levantine Arabic#Orthography and writing systems[1]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Read the last words of writer Heba Abu Nada, who was killed last week by an Israeli airstrike". Literary Hub. 24 October 2023. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023. "We find ourselves in an indescribable state of bliss amidst the chaos. Amidst the ruins, a new city emerges—a testament to our resilience. Cries of pain echo through the air, mingling with the blood-stained garments of doctors. Teachers, despite their grievances, embrace their little pupils, while families display unwavering strength in the face of adversity."
2. ^ "Wazāra 'ṯ-ṯaqāfa tanẓimu umsīa šiʿrīa bi-'t-taʿāun maʿa baladīa Ġazza" وزارة الثقافة تنظم أمسية شعرية بالتعاون مع بلدية غزة [Ministry of Culture organises poetry evening in cooperation with the Municipality of Gaza]. Alwatan Voice (in Arabic). 29 August 2017. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
3. ^ "Gaza: Muerte de una poeta" [Gaza: Death of a poet]. ContraPunto (in Spanish). 21 October 2023. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
4. ^ ""aṯ-Ṯaqāfa" tukkarrimu ar-riwāʾīa "Abū Nadā" li-fauz-hā bi-ǧāʾiza aš-šāriqa li-'l-ibdāʿ al-ʿarabī" "الثقافة" تكّرم الروائية "أبو ندى" لفوزها بجائزة الشارقة للإبداع العربي [“ath-Thaqafa” [ie the Palestinian Ministry of Culture] honours novelist “Abu Nada” on her winning of the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity]. Alray (in Arabic). 15 March 2017. Archived from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
5. ^ "al-Uksiǧīn laysa lil-mautā" الأكسجين ليس للموتى [Oxygen is not for the dead]. Department of Culture, Sharjah (in Arabic). 2017. Archived from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
6. ^ Najm, Najlaa (6 September 2023). "Hiba Abū Nadā.. ʿIndamā lam tuʿaǧǧiba-hā nihāyatu 'l-Ḥikāya" هبة أبو ندى.. عندما لم تُعْجبها نهايةُ الحكاية [Hiba Abu Nada.. When she did not enjoy the end of the story]. Banafsaj (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
7. ^ al-Saʿāfīn, Razān (12 March 2017). "Ḥiwār ṣaḥafī maʿa al-adība Hiba Abū Nadā" حوار صحفي مع الأديبة هبة أبو ندى [A journalistic interview with female author Hiba Abu Nada]. Women for Palestine (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
8. ^ Al-Daour, Aisha (Spring 2021). "Heroes for Change or Systems for Change?". Masters thesis, Malmö University. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
9. ^ Zaydān, Badīʿa (24 October 2023). "Hiba Abū Nadā .. "al-Uksiǧīn laysa lil-mautā"!" !"هبة أبو ندى .. "الأكسجين ليس للموتى [Hiba Abu Nada .. "Oxygen is not for the dead"!]. Al-Ayyam (in Arabic). Ramallah, Palestine. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
10. ^ "al-Ḥadaṯ aṯ-Ṯaqāfī: Filasṭīn taksibu ǧāʾizatayn fī 'š-šiʿr wa-'r-riwāya" الحدث الثقافي: فلسطين تكسب جائزتين في الشعر والرواية [al Hadath Culture [newsroom]: Palestine wins two awards in poetry and novels]. Al-Hadath (in Arabic). 17 February 2017. Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
11. ^ "Wazāra 'ṯ-ṯaqāfa tušīdu bi-fauz Ḥiǧǧāui wa-'bū Nadā fī ǧāʾiza 'š-Šāriqa li-'l-ibdāʿ al-ʿarabī" وزارة الثقافة تشيد بفوز حجاوي وابو ندى في جائزة الشارقة للإبداع العربي [Ministry of Culture praises the victory of [Aref] Hijjawi and [Hiba] Abu Nada in the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity]. Palestinian Ministry of Culture (in Arabic). 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2023.[permanent dead link]
12. ^ "al-Uksiǧīn laysa lil-mautā" الأكسجين ليس للموتى [Oxygen is not for the Dead]. Goodreads. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
13. ^ "October 7, 2023". 7 October 2023.
14. ^ "A Palestinian Meditation in a Time of Annihilation". Literary Hub. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
15. ^ Ramadan, Alsayid (21 October 2023). "Ḥāṣila ʿalā ǧāʾiza 'š-Šāriqa li-'l-ibdāʿ al-ʿarabī.. Wafa 'l-adība 'l-filasṭīnīa 'š-šābba Hiba Abū Nadā ḍaḥīa qaṣf Ġazza" حاصلة على جائزة الشارقة للإبداع العربي.. وفاة الأديبة الفلسطينية الشابة هبة أبو ندى ضحية قصف غزة [Winner of the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity.. Death of the young female Palestinian author Hiba Abu Nada, a victim of Gaza bombardment]. Al-Bayan (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
16. ^ Al-Kardousi, Elham (21 October 2023). "Maʿlūmāt ʿan aš-šāʿira 'l-Filasṭīnīa Hiba Abū Nadā.. Qatala-hā al-iḥtilāl fī Ġazza" معلومات عن الشاعرة الفلسطينية هبة أبو ندى.. قتلها الاحتلال في غزة [Facts about the Palestinian poetess Hiba Abu Nada.. She was killed by the occupation of Gaza]. El Watan News (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.

## External links[edit]

* Hiba Abu Nada on Facebook
* "Our Loneliness": A Poem by Hiba Abu Nada, in Arabic and English translation by Salma Harland

* v
* t
* e

Israel–Hamas war

* Timeline
* Outline

Engage-
ments|

| Hamas-led
attack on Israel|

| Attacks on civilians|

* Netiv HaAsara
* Alumim
* Be'eri
* Elchanan Team
* Holit
* Kfar Aza
* Kissufim
* Nir Oz
* Nir Yitzhak
* Nahal Oz
* Nirim
* Nova music festival
* Psyduck music festival

|

Battles|

* Re'im
* Sderot
* Sufa
* Zikim
* Israeli female tank crew fight

General topics|

* Allegations of genocide
* Allegations of involvement of UNRWA employees
* Denial
* Sexual and gender-based violence
* Screams Before Silence

Israeli invasion
of Gaza|

* Beit Hanoun
* Gaza City
* Khan Yunis
* Rafah

| Attacks on refugee camps|

* Jabalia
* 31 October
* Al-Shati
* Al-Maghazi

|

Attacks on schools|

* Al-Maghazi
* Al-Fakhoora
* Al-Falah
* Shadia Abu Ghazala School

Attacks on health facilities|

* Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion
* Al-Shifa Hospital siege
* alleged military use
* ambulance airstrike
* Gaza Strip mass graves
* Kamal Adwan Hospital siege
* Killing of health workers
* Nasser Hospital siege
* Nasser Hospital mass graves

Other attacks|

* Airstrikes on municipal services in Gaza
* Church of Saint Porphyrius
* Engineer's Building strike and massacre
* Flour massacre
* Palestinians evacuating Gaza City
* Sabra mosque
* World Central Kitchen drone strikes

General topics|

* AI-assisted targeting
* Bombing of the Gaza Strip
* Destruction of cultural heritage during the Israel–Hamas war
* Environmental damage in the Gaza Strip caused by the Israel–Hamas war
* Gaza genocide allegations
* Torture

Other theaters|

* Israel–Lebanon border clashes
* Attacks on journalists
* Israeli incursions in the West Bank
* Killing of Benjamin Achimeir
* April 2024 Israeli settler rampages
* Givat Shaul shooting
* Tower 22 drone attack

| Iran–Israel conflict|

* Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus
* Iranian strikes in Israel
* Israeli strikes on Iran

|

Red Sea crisis|

* Operation Prosperity Guardian
* Attacks on the MV Maersk Hangzhou
* 2024 missile strikes in Yemen
* Marlin Luanda missile strike

Hostage
crisis|

* 2023 hostage–prisoner exchange
* Kidnapped from Israel
* Hostages and Missing Families Forum
* Hostages Square

| Hostages|

* Noa Argamani
* Bibas family
* Alex Dancyg
* Oded Lifshitz
* Hersh Goldberg-Polin
* Naama Levy

|

Rescued hostages|

* Operation Golden Hand
* Ori Megidish

Released hostages|

* Rachel Edry
* Yarden Roman-Gat
* Mia Schem

Deceased hostages|

* Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim, and Samer Talalka

General
topics|

* 2023 Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
* Ceasefire
* COGAT
* Effect on children in Gaza
* Humanitarian aid
* International recognition of the State of Palestine
* Israeli interrogations
* Women
* Wikipedia

| Historical context|

* Arab–Israeli conflict
* Blockade of the Gaza Strip
* Palestinian freedom of movement
* Israel and apartheid
* Children
* Gaza–Israel conflict
* Casualties of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip
* Human shields
* Israeli settlement
* Israeli outpost
* Israeli settler violence
* Israeli disengagement from Gaza
* Palestinian rocket attacks
* Palestinian tunnel warfare
* anti-tunnel barrier
* Women

|

Effects|

* Calls for the destruction of Israel
* Israeli government response
* Israeli war cabinet
* Mass detentions
* Economic impact
* Environment impact in Gaza
* Evacuations
* Gaza Strip evacuations
* Humanitarian crisis
* Healthcare collapse
* Premature baby crisis
* Famine
* Media coverage
* Violence against journalists
* Misinformation
* Pallywood
* Palestinian genocide accusation
* Accusations of United States complicity in Israeli war crimes in the Israel–Hamas war
* Sexual violence against Palestinians
* War crimes
* Cemetery destruction and necroviolence
* Israeli torture in the occupied territories
* Proposed Israeli resettlement of Gaza

| Reactions|

* Calls for a ceasefire
* Diplomatic impact
* University donors
* European Union
* US support for Israel
* UK support for Israel
* Islamic Summit Conference
* Arab–Islamic extraordinary summit
* Hurmat-e-Masjid Aqsa Conference
* Cancellation of the 2023 MTV EMA
* Proposed Israeli resettlement of the Gaza Strip

| Discrimination|

* Antisemitism
* Riots in the North Caucasus
* Anti-Palestinianism
* Islamophobia
* Violent incidents
* Killing of Wadea al-Fayoume
* Death of Paul Kessler
* Vermont student shooting
* Zürich stabbing attack

|

Protests|

* University campuses
* France
* March for the Republic and Against Antisemitism
* Pro-Palestinian protests at Sciences Po
* Indonesia
* 2023 Bitung clashes
* Israel
* United Kingdom
* United States
* Artists4Ceasefire
* Columbia University protests
* DNC protests
* March on Washington for Gaza
* March for Israel
* National March on Washington: Free Palestine
* Protest votes
* Self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell
* UCLA protests

UN resolutions|

* A/RES/ES-10/21
* S/RES/2712
* A/RES/ES-10/22
* S/RES/2720
* S/RES/2728

UN inquiry|

* Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory

World Court|

* South Africa v. Israel (Genocide Convention)
* Legal Consequences of Israeli Policies and Practices

Courts|

* Defense for Children International-Palestine v. Biden

Casualties|

| Israel|

| Security
forces|

* Alim Abdallah
* Yitzhak Ben-Bashat
* Jayar Davidov
* Eli Ginsberg
* Salman Habaka
* Asaf Hamami
* Yitzhar Hofman
* Roi Levy
* Izhar Peled
* Yonatan Steinberg

|

Civilians|

* Lior Asulin
* Yuval Castleman
* Hayim Katsman
* Ofir Libstein
* Shani Louk
* Aner Shapira
* Vivian Silver
* Yahav Winner

Palestine|

| Hamas|

* Saleh al-Arouri
* Abdul Fatah Dukhan
* Mohammed Dababish
* Wissam Farhat
* Ahmed Ghandour
* Marwan Issa
* Fursan Khalifa
* Osama Mazini
* Ayman Nofal
* Jamila al-Shanti
* Ali Al Qadi

|

Other
militants|

* Fouad Abu Butihan
* Jihad Shehadeh

Civilians|

* Tawfic Abdel Jabbar
* Refaat Alareer
* Hammam Alloh
* Naheda and Samr Anton
* Yazan al-Kafarneh
* Ibrahim al-Astal
* Ahmad Bahar
* Mohammed Barakat
* Rashid Dabour [ar]
* Mohamed al-Dalou
* Awni El-Dous
* Omar Ferwana
* Hiba Abu Nada
* Ibrahim Qusaya
* Hind Rajab
* Mohammed Shabir
* Omar Abu Shawish
* Sufian Tayeh
* Wael Al Zard

Spillover|

* Saleh al-Arouri
* Ali Hussein Barji
* Razi Mousavi
* Wissam al-Tawil
* Sadegh Omidzadeh
* Mushtaq Talib Al-Saeedi
* Mohammad Reza Zahedi

Journalists|

* Issam Abdallah
* Samer Abu Daqqa
* Roee Edan
* Belal Jadallah

General topics|

* Friendly fire

Related
people|

| Israelis|

* Nimrod Aloni
* Rachel Goldberg-Pollin
* Eitan Okun
* Yagel Oshri
* Inbal Rabin-Lieberman
* Amir Tibon

|

Palestinians|

* Wael Al-Dahdouh
* Plestia Alaqad
* Motaz Azaiza
* Bisan Owda
* Mustafa Moien Ayyash

Other
topics|

* Al-Saqqa House [ar]
* Al Qarara Cultural Museum
* Attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria during the Israel–Hamas war
* Central Archives of Gaza City
* Bearing Witness
* From the river to the sea
* Gaza Daily
* "Harbu Darbu"
* Israeli demolition of Palestinian property
* "Options for a policy regarding Gaza's civilian population"
* Project Nimbus
* "Rajieen"

* Category

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States

Other|

* IdRef

Portals:

* Biography
* Palestine

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