Israel's Haaretz Gazan Wills 'Remember Our Names' Released
Israeli daily Haaretz released the wills of young Gazans who died in Israeli attacks during the Gaza War under the title 'Remember Our Names'.
In the article titled 'Remember Our Names': Young Gazans Fearing Oblivion Record Their Last Wills Before They Die, Haaretz reported in detail on the wills of the deceased before they died in Israeli attacks, along with their photos, saying, "A soccer player who never leaves home, an economist who wants to raise political awareness, a filmmaker who continues to provide content even after death. They are among the 40,000 people who have died in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war." "Many felt a greater fear than death, fearing becoming 'just a number' and taking steps to ensure that they will not be forgotten." The article begins with the introduction of a Facebook will left by a young man from Gaza who was killed along with three others in an Israeli military attack on a civilian home.
<For a little over three years, Belal Iyad Akel has been preparing for his death. There were moments when the young man from Gaza thought death was a distant future, but he prepared his will. “My name is Belal, I am 23 years old, and this is what my profile picture looks like,” he wrote in a post in English and Arabic uploaded to Facebook on May 17, 2021. “I am not an ordinary young man, I am not a number. It took me 23 years to become what you see now... I have a home, friends, memories, and a lot of pain.”>
This piece was written during the Israeli military’s Operation Defenders of the Wall.
It was a time when the airstrikes were increasing the anxiety in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip. The young man's account from Gaza wrote, "What scares me most is that my death from Zionist attacks is mentioned as one of the increasing numbers by the minute." The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported this, politely referring to it as "martyrdom," saying, "A young man was martyred along with three others in an attack on a civilian home." The Facebook account before his death said, "This is my last will. I do not want to be another number. This war is slowly killing me. The silence of my children and the fear of my mother torment me. "I don't have any tears," it read.
In response, Haaretz reported that "the current war has only heightened Akel's fears and the urgency of his will. He has reuploaded his post and placed it at the top of the page."
The article continued that "nearly 10 months after the war began, the death toll in Gaza – according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health – has reached 40,000, a figure that does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants," and that "with the high casualties so far and the ongoing Israeli offensive (Israeli officials say thousands of armed men have been assimilated into the local population), there is little doubt that the living will be next."
The article said of the wills left behind by Gazans, "That is why more and more Gazans are looking for ways to say goodbye in their own way." "Haaretz tells the stories of four people who wrote living wills, photographs and wills. They share a common theme: they know they will die, but they do not want to die as another number." >he said.
Mohammed Barakat, who had played for the Palestinian national team for several victories and whose last victory was with Saudi football team Al Shola in the 2016-2019 season, was killed on March 11 in a bombing in the Khan Yunis area where he lived.
The 39-year-old Barakat died on the spot. He was a football player with an international career and a kind of local celebrity.
He had not fled with his family but had stayed at home, preparing in advance for the day after his death.
In an Arabic video released by the Palestinian Football Association, he looked into the camera and said, “I am in a difficult situation.” He said, “This is my last word and my last video,” against the backdrop of gunfire and the sound of bombs.
Barakat recited a verse from the Koran, Surah Taghabun, which deals with the fate and death of man and the trials and tests that Allah gives to man. The 18-verse sura contains: The concept of Taghabun is mentioned as one of the names of the Day of Judgment.
"I ask for your forgiveness," he said to the cameras. "Please pray for me. Mother and father, you are very dear to my heart. Haitham (his wife), my beloved children, I bid you farewell. Now that it is over, please continue to pray quietly."
Haaretz, an Israeli daily, published a report that day that said the photos and wills of the Gaza Strip dead were "still alive on Instagram."