Gaza strike kills Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer
By TOI Desk Report
December 8, 2023
Update on : December 8, 2023
Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer was killed in an Israeli strike, his friend, the Gazan poet Mosab Abu Toha, on Facebook said overnight Thursday.
Alareer was one of the leaders of a young generation of authors in Gaza who chose to write in English to tell their stories, reports AFP.
Mosab Abu Toha wrote on Facebook that his friend and colleague Refaat Alareer was killed with his family a few minutes ago.
According to Hamas authorities, Israel conducted further operations on Thursday evening in the north of the Gaza Strip, an epicentre of the fighting at the time.
Alareer had refused to leave northern Gaza, a few days after Israel started its ground offensive in October.
His friend Ahmed Alnaouq wrote on X that the assassination of Refaat is tragic, painful, and outrageous. It is a significant loss.
Journalist Ramzy Baroud wrote on X that they will continue to be guided by your wisdom, today and for eternity.
Alareer was a professor of English literature at the Islamic University of Gaza. He taught Shakespeare among other subjects.
He was also one of the co-founders of the “We are not numbers” project.
The project pairs authors from Gaza with mentors abroad who help them write stories in English about their experiences.
According to Israeli authorities, around 1,200, mostly civilians, were killed as Israel started a vast military operation in Gaza following an attack by Hamas on October 7.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, over 17,100, also mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s bombardment. The attack has spread to the entirety of the Palestinian territory.
Alareer released a poem titled “If I Must Die” on X in November, which was shared tens of thousands of times.
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