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The Palestinian poet and translator Rifaat Al-Arair was martyred in an Israeli bombing of Gaza culture

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The Palestinian poet, academic, and translator Rifaat Al-Arair was martyred – along with many members of his family – in an Israeli raid on his sister’s house in northern Gaza – as those close to him announced yesterday, Thursday night. The deceased was one of the leaders of a generation of young Gazan writers who bet on writing in English to tell their stories.

For many years, Rifaat taught poetry and English literature at the Islamic University of Gaza, where he explained the works of Shakespeare, Thomas Wyatt, John Donne, Wilfred Owen, and others, and edited the books “Gaza Does Not Silence” and “Gaza Writes Again.” His brother, sister, and her four children were also martyred in the bombing.

Al-Areer’s main concern, he said in a previous TED presentation in Gaza, was that stories of elders, also known as oral histories, are on the way out because, due to modern technology, “we have stopped caring about stories.”

He continued, “I am the man I am now because of the stories my mother and grandmother told me.”

The academic, who taught the creative writing and world literature course to university students, added, “As Palestinians under occupation, storytelling goes beyond educational value to the urgent need to own our narrative, something that gives power back to the community rather than the elite. The stories that people can tell about a land are evidence on their right to that land.”

In 2021, he wrote to the New York Times that he found himself conflicted between wanting to take his family outside because of the missiles, shrapnel, and falling debris, and staying at home “so that we would be exposed to bombing by Israeli, American-made planes, and in the end we stayed at home…at least we would die together.”

Ahmed Al-Naouq, a friend of Professor Al-Arair, wrote on the X platform that Rifaat’s “assassination” was a “tragic, painful and scandalous matter” and a “terrible loss” after bloody raids in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday evening, as announced by the Ministry of Health of the Gaza government.

In turn, his friend, the Gaza poet Musab Abu Toha, wrote on Facebook that his heart was “broken,” adding, “My friend and colleague Rifaat Al-Arair was killed with his family minutes ago. I cannot believe it.”

Investigative journalist Asa Winstanley wrote that he refused to tolerate charlatans and opportunists of all political stripes, noting that Palestine was his constant issue and that “he was our guide and inspiration. He was happy, funny, and lifted our spirits when we should have been supporting him… I don’t know what we would do without him.” Our hearts are bleeding, but we will pick up your fallen pen, dear fighter.”

For his part, writer and journalist Ramzi Baroud said via X, “Rest in peace, Rifaat Al-Arair. We will continue to be guided by your wisdom today and forever.”

The specialized American website “Literary Hub” also praised it.

Al-Arair taught English literature at the Islamic University of Gaza, and was one of the founders of the “We Are Not Numbers” project, which brought together authors from Gaza with “mentors” abroad who helped them write stories about their reality in English.

He had published on the



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