The Electronic Intifada 6 March 2024
Dr. Abdel Nasser al-Saqqa, a professor of geography at al-Aqsa University in Gaza, at a graduation ceremony in 2018. Dr. Abdel Nasser was killed by Israeli bombs in January 2024.
Dr. Abdel Nasser al-Saqqa was my favorite professor at al-Aqsa University.
He was a professor of geography, with a specialty in the land of Palestine. He was generous and kind to his students.
I took Dr. Abdel Nasser’s classes from 2014 to 2018. I remember most vividly his lessons on the right of return as laid out in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194. It states that “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so.”
His four children and wife lived abroad in Belgium, to have a better life amid Israel’s continuing siege on Gaza. But Dr. Abdel Nasser – also known as Abu Mustafa – stayed in Gaza out of his dedication to his students and to continue his work as a professor.
He spoke often of his children and how he looked forward to visiting them. But Dr. Abdel Nasser was not able to visit his children abroad, as he was martyred by Israel on 7 January this year.
In December, Israel dropped leaflets in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza city where Dr. Abdel Nasser had been forcibly displaced, ordering the evacuation of all residents.
Dr. Abdel Nasser was killed in the bombings.
I was about to go to sleep when my sister read me the news from Facebook. I could not stop crying.
In his last post on Facebook, he wrote of the pain he felt in the constant communications blackouts, how he had gone for days upon days without being able to speak to his children.
“Maybe better days will bring us together,” he wrote, only to be killed several days later.
As Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people continues, I have a hard time imagining these better days. Sometimes I believe that the estranged will only get to meet in heaven, which is much more beautiful than our world.
Our martyrs are not mere numbers you can count.
Dr. Abdel Nasser was a father and a beloved professor.
Each of our martyrs has a story and a dream.
Some of them realized their dreams before they were killed. Others did not.
May God have mercy on you, my dear teacher.
Lubna Ahmad Abu Sitta is a teacher and content writer from Gaza.
