Palestinian novelist Safaa Rizq Al-Nabaheen was keen on writing and writing despite the suffering caused by the Israeli attacks and the war in Gaza, especially the loss of her loved ones as well as the food shortage crisis that is ravaging the besieged Palestinian Strip. Today, Israeli bureaucratic barriers stand in her way and keep her stuck despite obtaining scholarships and being accepted into several foreign universities.

Published on: 02/17/2026 - 19:07

The career of Palestinian writer Safaa Rizq Al-Nabahin began in very humble circumstances. On an empty plot of land located next to her house in the Al-Zawaida area, an agricultural town close to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

There, while the war was raging between Hamas and Israel, Safaa decided to use her talent for writing to organize a workshop to help children, who are suffering from the trauma and horrors of war, write stories, dream, and unleash their imaginations, away from the smell of death and devastation that has spread everywhere around them.

In early 2024, a few months after the outbreak of war, Gazans began to flee, fleeing destruction and death, and also to submit to evacuation orders that were constantly issued by Israeli forces. Which led to the displacement of 1.9 million people by the end of the same year, out of 2.2 million people, the total population of the Palestinian enclave.

Displaced people poured from their homes in northern Gaza into the cities in its center and south. Despite this, the number of victims of Israeli operations continues to rise dramatically. This pushed the residents of Gaza towards a state of despair that worsened with each new bombing. Under these tragic circumstances, an idea came to Safaa's mind.

Read also: Gaza Strip: At least 100 children have been killed since the ceasefire

The Palestinian writer (31 years old) says: “Being a writer and novelist allowed me to propose a workshop to train children and teenagers in the art of writing short stories and teach them how to organize their inner world through narration.”

But before she started turning that idea into reality, Safaa noticed things that would have discouraged many people from embarking on such a project.

She says in this regard: “During my first session with them, I discovered that some of them looked as if they were twenty years old. I asked one of the children about his childhood and his dreams, but his only response was that his only concern today was to fill pots with water and collect firewood so that his mother could cook the remaining food, and to pray that it would not rain so that the water would not flood their tent.”

Safaa did not give up, even though the task seemed daunting and difficult. She persevered despite the difficult circumstances and narrow horizons.

Thanks to this, her effort and patience slowly began to bear fruit and the children finally began to respond to her and interact with her project.

The Palestinian writer explains: “The beginnings were very simple: our meetings did not cost anything except to talk and play for entertainment. We would do this in a very small tent located on the edge of a square where the children were sitting on mats. But great hope was beginning to fill their hearts.”

"Creative Shelter Project"

After the first adventure and “humble” beginnings, the workshops, which were called the “Creative Shelter Project,” began to develop and attract more children, especially since Gaza’s schools were closed or destroyed by the war.

She recounted: “In the beginning, the sessions focused on psychological support and entertainment. Then we added the world of dreams, by teaching them [the children - editor’s note] to express everything they felt through writing. After that, I broadcast a radio broadcast, a short play, read popular stories inspiring expression, and established a choir of our ancient Palestinian songs. From there, I began to introduce my small camp through Facebook.”

Thus, after her project gained greater momentum, Safaa Rizq Al-Nabahin began searching for international sponsors and funding to develop it further. She needed help because she was still running the project alone, and the task was daunting as the war continued, especially after a painful tragedy struck her family.

Her brother Muhammad was killed on July 13, 2024, in a raid launched by an Israeli drone that hit him while he was collecting firewood outside the tents.

While she tries to maintain her composure and hide her pain: “Losing my brother was not easy,” adding: “At the time, I tried to distract myself by completing my university studies, despite the impossible circumstances, via the Internet, which was rare.”

Terror coming from the sea

After she put her “Creative Shelter” project on hold for six months after her brother Mohammed was killed, things are back in motion again. Goethe Institut, a German non-governmental organization, expressed its interest in funding the Safaa program, which immediately began taking the necessary administrative measures to achieve this goal.

But I was again exposed to more suffering and tragedies. In September 2024, the war in Gaza intensified, with the death toll exceeding 40,000. Daily news headlines began to carry several reports about Israeli attacks in Khan Yunis, Gaza City, Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Al-Mawasi, and Jabalia. International public opinion became accustomed to the names of Palestinian cities, villages, and camps in the small besieged Strip.

At that time, Israel used quadcopter drones and spy drones. What spread killing in every corner of the besieged sector. The residents of Gaza were daily witnesses to the horror of this bloody war. On September 15, 2024, terror once again shook Safaa’s family, and this time it was coming with the waves of the sea.

Read also: An innovative therapeutic program using virtual reality glasses to help the children of Gaza recover from the traumas of war

That night, her second brother, Saeb, a father of three children, went out fishing, ignoring his family’s warnings, in a desperate attempt to provide for his children while the economic situation in Gaza deteriorated catastrophically, prices rose, and food stocks collapsed.

Safaa recounts: “An Israeli quadcopter drone spotted him while he was at sea. It chased him into the water. He tried to escape by swimming, and opened fire on him, wounding him all over his body.”

She added: “He tried to flee on the beach. People were shouting that his death was certain, asking him to pronounce the Shahada, because they saw blood flowing from all over his body. After that, another drone fired a projectile at his head. He fell to the ground, and was covered in sea sand...” She added sadly: “One day, he said to me: I am the son of the sea. I will die if I leave him. But the sea did not care about him” this time.

A United Nations report on May 29, 2025 revealed that “systematic” Israeli attacks in Gaza had caused the death of 200 civilian fishermen by December 2024, noting that they were targeted “in general without warning, while fishing in rowing boats that did not pose any clear threat” to the Israeli naval forces.

Warm, colorful tent

On the same day that Safaa's second brother was killed, the latter signed her contract with the Goethe Institute for her workshop project. This also coincided with the period of taking her final university exams.

She says: “Despite this impossible situation, I was determined to continue my studies in parallel with my project. Five days later, I set up a large tent and decorated it with bright colors and beautiful pictures. Thanks to funding, I had some resources, so I prepared a warm tent to receive all the children.”

Fifty children, aged between 8 and 15 years, participated in the project. Thanks to the new funding, the Palestinian writer was able to expand the program by adding rehearsals and theatrical performances. “In fact, I was suffering from the pain of loss... I had no choice but to devote myself to my work and studies.”

The project lasted for three months with three meetings held during each week. Safaa remembers what the last day of her project was like: “We all broke down in tears.”

Then, the majority of the children who participated in the workshop began returning to their homes in northern Gaza. Hence, Safaa devoted herself once again to writing in the absence of other projects.

Before the war, her first novel in Arabic, published in 2021, won an award in Lebanon. As for her second novel, “The Mystery of the Forgotten Girl,” which is also in Arabic, she wrote it deliberately avoiding talking about the war “because I was not prepared to face the bitter truth.”

Since then, she has written a third novel, “Disowned,” which was published in Egypt and recently presented at the Cairo International Book Fair, along with a poetry collection called “When the Ashes Bloom.” She also completed her fourth novel, “Letters Undelivered.”

Writing to adapt and endure

Safaa Rizq Al-Nabahin has always found in writing a means of coping, a source of resilience, an outlet, and a way out of a painful reality. But the difficulty for the young Palestinian writer lies in forces beyond her control.

Despite the signing of the ceasefire agreement last October, the number of victims of Israeli fire continues to rise.

At the beginning of the week, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced the death of 586 Palestinians since the start of the truce, bringing to more than 72 thousand the total number of victims who fell in the war.

Read also: “Nearly 70%” of those killed in the Gaza war were women and children, according to a United Nations report

Safaa says that the truce between Hamas and Tel Aviv did not change anything. She added: “In fact, the war did not stop. It only stopped through the media, to calm public opinion.”

She continued, "The (Israeli) raids are continuing. We are living in unprecedented chaos. There is a slight improvement in terms of food and water, but the general situation is still catastrophic."

In fact, the Hebrew state still prevents foreign journalists from going to Gaza freely. Communication with the outside world also remains difficult due to frequent Internet outages.

Under these circumstances, FRANCE 24 was forced to conduct all its dialogue with Safaa via email, text messages and phone calls. During one of the interviews we conducted with her via a messaging application, we heard a huge explosion that shook an area apparently close to her room, but the novelist then insisted on continuing the conversation.

Stuck in Gaza despite being accepted into Western universities

It seems that the secret of the Palestinian writer’s perseverance lies in her desire to make her story heard to the world. However, the task has become very difficult. From bombing to bureaucracy, the challenges sometimes seem insurmountable. Despite everything, Safaa continues to work and write to survive.

For months, Safaa tried to leave Gaza to live away from the besieged Strip, but the attempt failed. One Italian university even sent its request to an institution for a writer’s residency, but has yet to receive any response.

On the other hand, an international fund to support artists and cultural actors at risk “substantially” supported her, but during the final selection process, Safaa Al-Nabahin says: “They rejected me as soon as they knew that I was from Gaza.”

After that, Safaa obtained conditional admission to a British university for the following semester. But the conditions included financing and passing entrance exams, which in turn required the issuance of a visa. I also obtained a scholarship to an American university, thanks to the help of a number of writers residing in the United States. But this process also faltered due to the US government’s refusal to evacuate the Palestinians.

On February 2, 2026, the Rafah border crossing with Egypt was partially reopened amid chaos. While about 20,000 Gazans needed urgent medical treatment abroad, on the first day, the Israeli authorities allowed only five patients to leave.

Read also: Influential women in Gaza restore the stolen smile to children by collecting and distributing aid

Amid these circumstances, Gazans whose applications are accepted at Western universities and institutions are aware that they are not a priority. As next semester's deadlines approach, they helplessly watch their chances of getting their seats or scholarships disappear.

For Safa Rizq Al Nabahin, this situation is extremely painful. Unable to do anything else, she says: “I cannot find words to describe the extent of the injustice and frustration I am experiencing.”

After the time she spent working to help the children of Gaza and give them hope to dream of a future beyond the dilemma of survival, her personal lessons became a challenge for her. But she is not someone who gives up easily. "I will never lose hope. I will never lose hope." She concluded: "There are many people stuck in difficult places like Gaza. I will continue. Writing is my way of moving forward."

Original text in English, transcribed into Arabic by: Tariq Balqin

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