Hiba’s Last poem before her murder by Israeli bombs in Gaza- Hiba Abu Nada, Palestinian poet and novelist (1991-2023)

from thefreeonline on 1st Nov 2023 by Literary Hub / Hiba Abu Nada

A Palestinian Meditation in a Time of Annihilation

Hiba Abu Nada, 32, wrote and published her final poem ten days before Israeli bombs killed her and many others on October 20, 2023, in Gaza. She had a B.A in organic chemistry and a master’s degree in clinical nutrition.

In her short life she managed to publish one novel, Oxygen is Not for the Dead. The speaker in Abu Nada’s final poem is an inner I, probably the voice of God welling up inside. Here is an excerpt:

I shelter you
and the children who
are sleeping
as chicks in the lap
of their nest

they don’t walk
in their dreams
because death
towards the house
walks

….

I shelter you
from wound and woe,
and with seven verses
I shield

the taste of orange
from phosphorus,
the color of clouds
from smoke.

Death

Her last post online was on 8 October 2023, when she wrote[12]

On 20 October 2023, she was killed in the Israel–Hamas war, during an airstrike by the Israeli Air Force, which hit her home in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. She was 32.[13][14]

Works

  • ‏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 – via Wikidata: Q123139804.

Author Abdalhadi Alijla wrote on Twitter, “With great sadness we mourn one of the most talented Gaza feminist poet and novelist, Heba Abu Nada. Her novel named, ‘Oxygen is not for the dead’. She wrote yesterday,’If we die, know that we are content and steadfast, and convey on our behalf that we are people of truth.’…….. Oh gosh Heba.”

Related

Gaza in Paradise: The Tragic Story of Palestinian Writer Hiba Kamal Abu Nada

2023-10-22 12:31:15 We are in heaven now. A new city will be built there. Those who sing about eternal love there will be Gazans. These are the lines Palestinian writer Hiba Kamal Abu Nada wrote on her Facebook timeline before she was killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza. Gaza…October 22, 2023

In “world”

Continue reading “Hiba’s Last poem before her murder by Israeli bombs in Gaza- Hiba Abu Nada, Palestinian poet and novelist (1991-2023)”

Reports Expose US Billionaires and Corporate Profiteers Enabling Israel’s War on Gaza

“As the Biden administration attempts to deny the death toll of Israel’s campaign of mass murder in Gaza and sell genocide as a stimulus for the U.S. economy, these are the death merchants profiting from the war machine.» By Jessica Corbett / Common Dreams, October 29, 2023 With more than 7,300 Palestinians killed so far in Israel’s three-week bombardment of […]

Reports Expose US Billionaires and Corporate Profiteers Enabling Israel’s War on Gaza

Bolivia cuts ties with Israel over Gaza conflict

RT | November 1, 2023 The government of Bolivia announced on Tuesday it was severing diplomatic relations with Israel due to its military operation in Gaza and alleged war crimes against the Palestinians. “Bolivia decided to break diplomatic relations with the state of Israel in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military […]

Bolivia cuts ties with Israel over Gaza conflict

Brazil: Landless Rural Workers’ Movement send two tonnes of food to Gaza

October 31, 2023 by Peoples Dispatch The Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST) has sent two tons of food to the Gaza Strip in order to aid the population suffering from a multifold crisis as Israel’s bombing campaign and blockade on the enclave continues. The movement, however, has announced that they plan to send much more. […]

Brazil: Landless Rural Workers’ Movement send two tonnes of food to Gaza

Palestine Action shut down Elbit’s HQ an arms factory

Shutting down both Elbit’s Shenstone weapons factory and their Bristol Headquarters, Palestine Action is occupying the roof of UAV Engines Ltd. (UEL) and blockading the private road leading to Elbit’s HQ.

Palestine Action shut down Elbit’s HQ an arms factory

Myth of The Moral Army- Testimonies Israel’s Military Killed Many of Its Own Citizens With Tanks, Missiles – Max Blumenthal

from thefreeonline on 31 Oct 2023 by @MaxBlumenthal@Grayzone and Sott.net

Israel’s military received orders to shell Israeli homes and even their own bases as they were overwhelmed by Hamas militants on October 7. How many Israeli citizens said to have been “burned alive” were actually killed by friendly fire?

Several new testimonies by Israeli witnesses to the October 7 Hamas surprise attack on southern Israel adds to growing evidence that the Israeli military killed its own citizens as they fought to neutralize Palestinian gunmen.

Tuval Escapa, a member of the security team for Kibbutz Be’eri, set up a hotline to coordinate between kibbutz residents and the Israeli army.

He told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that as desperation began to set in, “the commanders in the field made difficult decisions – including shelling houses and their occupants in order to eliminate the terrorists along with the hostages.”

Failures Leading Up to the Hamas Attack That Changed Israel Forever – Israel News –

A separate report published in Haaretz noted that the Israeli military was “compelled to request an aerial strike” against its own facility inside the Erez Crossing to Gaza “in order to repulse the terrorists” who had seized control. That base was filled with Israeli Civil Administration officers and soldiers at the time.

These reports indicate that orders came down from the military’s high command to attack homes and and other areas inside Israel, even at the cost of many Israeli lives.

A home in Kibbutz Be’eri, demolished by the IDF on October 7th to ‘get Hamas militants’

An Israeli woman named Yasmin Porat confirmed in an interview with Israel Radio that the military “undoubtedly” killed numerous Israeli noncombatants during gun battles with Hamas militants on October 7. “They eliminated everyone, including the hostages,” she stated, referring to Israeli special forces.

As David Sheen and Ali Abunimah reported in Electronic Intifada, Porat described “very, very heavy crossfire” and Israeli tank shelling, which led to many casualties among Israelis.

While being held by the Hamas gunmen, Porat recalled, “They did not abuse us. We were treated very humanely… No one treated us violently.”

She added, “The objective was to kidnap us to Gaza, not to murder us.”

Continue reading “Myth of The Moral Army- Testimonies Israel’s Military Killed Many of Its Own Citizens With Tanks, Missiles – Max Blumenthal”

Against Genocide Podcast: A Palestinian Solidarity Panel – It’s Going Down

Long-running anarchist radio show and podcast The Final Straw presents a forum on the unfolding events in Palestine.

from thefreeonline on Oct 31 ’23 Radio/Podcast by Final Straw at It’s Going Down

Listen and Download HERE

This week on The Final Straw, we’re excited to share a panel discussion recorded at Firestorm Books entitled Against Genocide: A Palestinian Solidarity Panel, recorded on Sunday, October 22nd 2023.

From the event description:

“With the “iron-clad” support of the United States and other Western powers, Israel has made explicit its plan for the systematic destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian people. At this event, participants—including Palestinian and Jewish activists—will discuss the history of the occupation and the present campaign of dehumanization that’s paving the way to genocide. We’ll also explore the radical solidarities that are necessary to stop the assault on Gaza and secure a just peace.

This event is a fundraiser for The Hebron International Resource Network (HIRN), an organization based in the West Bank that is working to house Gazan workers deported to the West Bank by Israeli forces. Please consider bringing a cash donation! Firestorm will additionally be donating the net proceeds from all sales in-store and online.

Art by Heba Zagout, Palestinian artist killed with her two young children in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza on Friday, October 13.”

Transcription here.

Zines suggested by Cindy Milstein

photo: Radical Graffiti