The body of Palestinian poet and academic Refaat Alareer, killed by Israel in December 2023, has been laid to rest in Gaza beside his family.
The body of renowned Palestinian academic Refaat Alareer, killed by Israel in Gaza City in December 2023, has been transferred to the Bin Marwan Cemetery in the eastern part of the city, where he was laid to rest with other family members.
Alareer, 44, was killed on December 6, 2023.
The poet and writer was buried beside his brother Salah, his sister Asmaa, and their children— all of whom were killed in the same Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza.
A professor of English Literature at the Islamic University in Gaza, Alareer had refused to leave northern Gaza when Israel launched its genocidal campaign in October 2023. He was reportedly targeted deliberately after receiving multiple death threats.
‘If I Must Die, Let it Bring Hope’ – Remembering Professor Refaat Alareer
According to eyewitness and family accounts cited by Euro-Med Monitor, the apartment where Alareer was staying with his family was surgically bombed, leaving the rest of the building intact.
Before his assassination, Alareer had been sheltering with his wife and children at a UNRWA school-turned-refuge. After receiving a death threat via phone call warning that his location had been discovered, he decided to leave. He moved to his sister’s home, where he was eventually killed.
Not an Ordinary Intellectual
Alareer was not an ordinary intellectual. He was an educator, who has inspired countless young people in Gaza to take charge of their own narrative and to tell the story of Gaza and Palestine based on their own experiences.
“(Refaat) authored many books and wrote tens of stories about Gaza. Refaat’s assassination is tragic, painful and outrageous. It is a huge loss,” his friend and We Are Not Numbers co-founder, Ahmed Alnaouq, wrote on X on Thursday.
Israel Killed Refaat Alareer in Gaza – These Are Some of His Last Words
On November 30, Alareer spoke to The New Arab about his decision not to evacuate northern Gaza.
“Israel is destroying Gaza in a way that will impact life for decades to come,” he told the UK-based news website at the time.
“Refaat was one of my inspirations in Gaza. Beyond brilliant and charming, he was simply kind and genuine as a person,” Ramzy Baroud, a Gaza-born intellectual and author said.
“I felt that everything he wrote or uttered represented a priority for us around the world. We were guided by him, and people like him. His death has completely disoriented me,” Baroud added.
(PC, Press TV)
