She worked for a time at the Rusul Center for Creativity, associated with the al-Amal Institute for Orphans.[8] According to Al-Ayyam, she was "preoccupied with justice, the uprisings of the Arab Spring, and the realities of Palestinian life under occupation."[9]
She published a number of collections of poetry, and a novel, titled al-Uksujīn laysa lil-mawtā ("Oxygen is not for the dead", Arabic: الأكسجين ليس للموتى). In 2017, she won second place in the 20th annual Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity, held by the United Arab Emirates, for her novel.[10][11] The book was republished by Dar Diwan in 2021.[12]
Death
Some of her posts in the first days of the war were shared and translated, becoming better known after her death. In her post on X written on October 7, at the start of Hamas-led attack on Israel, she wrote (in Arabic):[13]
Someone wanted to walk in the streets of his occupied city. Why is everyone so surprised? We also "see it far away and see it soon".
In her last post on X, written next day, on October 8, she wrote:[1]
Gaza’s night is dark apart from the glow of rockets, quiet apart from the sound of the bombs, terrifying apart from the comfort of prayer, black apart from the light of the martyrs. Good night, Gaza.
Writer Anthony Anaxagorou translated a poem that he reported was her last writing.[1] Physician and poet Fady Joudah translated one of her posts from 18 October:[14]
Each of us in Gaza is either witness to or martyr for liberation. Each is waiting to see which of the two they’ll become up there with God. We have already started building a new city in Heaven.
Doctors without patients. No one bleeds. Teachers in uncrowded classrooms. No yelling at students. New families without pain or sorrow. Journalists writing up and taking photos of eternal love. They’re all from Gaza.
In Heaven, the new Gaza is free of siege. It is taking shape now.
On 20 October 2023, she was killed by an Israeli airstrike while at her home in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. She was 32.[15][16]
Works
الأكسجين ليس للموتى [Oxygen is not for the dead: a novel] (in Arabic). دائرة الثقافة، حكومة الشارقة،, al-Shāriqah. 2017. ISBN978-9948-23-314-5. OCLC1032289333.
"I Grant You Refuge". Protean Magazine. Translated by Fakhreddine, Huda. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
^ abc"Read the last words of writer Heba Abu Nada, who was killed last week by an Israeli airstrike". Literary Hub. 24 October 2023. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023. We find ourselves in an indescribable state of bliss amidst the chaos. Amidst the ruins, a new city emerges—a testament to our resilience. Cries of pain echo through the air, mingling with the blood-stained garments of doctors. Teachers, despite their grievances, embrace their little pupils, while families display unwavering strength in the face of adversity.
^"Gaza: Muerte de una poeta" [Gaza: Death of a poet]. ContraPunto (in Spanish). 21 October 2023. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
