Refaat Alareer, a professor at the Islamic University of Gaza and one of the founders of the ‘We Are Not Numbers’ project, was killed by an israeli airstrike.

The professor was an educator who 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. He authored many books and wrote tens of stories about Gaza. His 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.

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,” said Ramzy Baroud, a Gaza-born intellectual and author. “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.

Alareer, a beloved English professor, communicated some of his last thoughts through his X profile. “If I must die, you must live to tell my story,” he wrote in a poem, published on November 1. “If I must die, let it bring hope, let it be a tale”.

On December 4, as Israeli airstrikes on his neighborhood intensified, Alareer wrote a tribute to the Palestinian Resistance, who is confronting the invading israeli forces: “I wish I were a freedom fighter,” he said, “so I die fighting back those invading Israeli genocidal maniacs invading my neighborhood and city.”. (ILKHA)