During the war, Palestinian novelist Safaa Al-Nabaheen worked tirelessly in Gaza, despite Israeli attacks, loss of loved ones and food shortages. Today, although she has obtained scholarships and admissions to foreign universities, the Israeli bureaucracy keeps her, against her will, in the besieged enclave.

Published on: 02/14/2026 - 09:39 Modified on: 02/16/2026 - 11:28

It all started very modestly, on a vacant lot next to his house in Al-Zawayda, an agricultural town not far from Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. This is where Palestinian author Safaa Al-Nabaheen decides, in 2024, while the war rages, to organize a workshop to help children create stories, dream and let their imagination soar beyond the death and destruction that surrounds them.

At the start of 2024, just a few months after the start of the war launched by Israel following the attack of October 7, 2023, the population of Gaza is on the move. The Israeli military begins issuing evacuation orders, triggering a process that will lead to the displacement of 1.9 million of Gaza's 2.2 million residents by the end of the year.

Towns in the center and south of the enclave are soon overloaded with refugees arriving from the north, the death toll rises, and as desperation grows with each bombardment, Safaa Al-Nabaheen has an idea.

“As a writer and novelist, it was possible for me to offer training workshops to children and adolescents on the art of writing short stories, teaching them to channel their inner world through narration,” explains the 31-year-old Palestinian author.

But just as she gets started, she has a revelation. “During my first session with them, I discovered that some had aged 20 years,” she says. “I asked a child about his childhood or his dreams, and his only response was to tell me that his concern today was to fill containers with water, to collect wood so his mother could cook what was left to eat, and to pray that it would not rain, so that their tents would not be flooded.”

Safaa Al-Nabaheen perseveres and, little by little, the children begin to react. “The beginnings were very simple: our meetings cost nothing other than discussions and games to entertain ourselves. It was a very small tent at the edge of the field, where the children sat on mats with a mountain of hope in their hearts,” she explains.

“The Creative Refuge Project”

After "modest" beginnings, its workshops, called "The Creative Refuge Project" ("the creative refuge project" in French), began to grow, attracting more children, while Gaza's schools were closed.

"At first, the sessions focused on psychological support and leisure. Then, we integrated the world of dreams, teaching them to express everything they felt through writing. I then set up the broadcast of a radio newspaper, a short play, the reading of popular stories that inspire expression, or the creation of a choir for our old Palestinian songs. Then, I started to publicize my little camp via Facebook", she says.

As the project grows, Safaa Al-Nabaheen begins looking for sponsors and seeks international funding. She manages the project alone and needs help, the mission is difficult while the war is in full swing.

It was then that misfortune struck his family.

His brother, Mohammed, was killed on July 13, 2024 in an Israeli drone strike while collecting wood outside.

“Losing my brother wasn’t easy,” she said, in a euphemism chosen to contain her emotions. “I tried to keep myself busy at the time, continuing my university studies despite impossible circumstances, via the Internet, which was rarely available.”

The horror from the sea

After the Creative Refuge Project was suspended for six months following Mohammed's death, things are starting to move again. The Goethe-Institut, a German NGO, expressed interest in financing its program and the writer immersed herself in the administrative formalities necessary to make it a reality.

In September 2024, the carnage in Gaza intensifies, the death toll exceeds 40,000. Daily headlines report Israeli attacks in Khan Younes, Gaza, Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Mawasi, Jabaliya... Names of towns, villages and camps now familiar to the international public.

But at the time, the outside world was still unaware of the extent of Israel's use of quadcopters and drones to spy and kill in every corner of the besieged enclave. Gazans do not have this luxury. And on September 15, 2024, horror – this time coming from the sea – fell again on Safaa Al-Nabaheen.

That night, his second brother, Saeb, the father of three young children, goes fishing, ignoring his family's warnings, in a desperate attempt to provide for his children as the economic situation in Gaza deteriorates, prices rise and food stocks collapse.

Also read Housing, food, money: how do the inhabitants of Gaza survive?

“An Israeli quadcopter spotted him at sea, chased him in the water and, as he tried to swim away, fired bullets all over his body,” says Safaa Al-Nabaheen. "He tried to escape. On the shore, people shouted to him that his death was inevitable and asked him to recite the Shahada (the Islamic profession of faith, editor's note), because they saw his blood gushing from all parts of his body. Then, another drone targeted his head with a projectile. He fell to the ground, covered in sea sand..."

"One day he said to me: 'I am a son of the sea; if I leave it, I die.' But the sea didn’t care about him,” she confides sadly.

In 2025, a UN report indicated that Israel's "systematic" attacks had killed 200 civilian fishermen through December 2024. They were targeted "usually without warning, while fishing from rowboats posing no discernible threat" to Israeli naval forces.

A warm tent with “beautiful colors”

The day Safaa Al-Nabaheen's second brother died was also the day he signed his contract with the Goethe-Institut for his workshop project, around the same time as his final exams at the university.

"Despite this impossible situation, I was determined to complete my studies and my side project. Five days later, I went to the camp to start my work. I built a large tent decorated with beautiful colors and pictures. Thanks to the funding, I had some resources, so I prepared a warm tent that accommodated all the children," she describes.

In total, 50 children aged 8 to 15 are participating in the project. And thanks to the new funding, the author can expand the programs by adding theater rehearsals and productions. “In truth, I was suffering the pangs of loss...I had no choice but to immerse myself in my work and studies.”

The project lasted three months, with meetings three days a week. On the last day, “we all broke down in tears,” she recalls.

At this time, most of the children in his workshop began to return to their homes in northern Gaza. With no projects to plan and organize to fill her days, Safaa Al-Nabaheen turns to writing again.

His first novel in Arabic, published in 2021, received a prize in Lebanon before the war. Her second, "The Mystery of the Forgotten Girl", also in Arabic, she wrote with a mission: to "intentionally" avoid writing about the war "because (she) was not ready to face the harsh reality".

Since then, she has written a third, "Disowned", published in Egypt and recently presented at the Cairo International Book Fair, but also a collection of poems, "When Ash Blossoms", and has finished writing her fourth novel, "Letters Not Yet Delivered".

To see Peace plan in Gaza: how to get children back into school?

Admitted to the West, blocked in Gaza

Writing has long been a coping mechanism and a factor of resilience for Safaa Al-Nabaheen. The difficulty, for the young Palestinian writer, however, lies in the forces beyond her control.

Despite a ceasefire signed last October, the number of victims of Israeli fire continues to increase. Earlier this week, Gaza's health ministry said 586 Palestinians had been killed since the ceasefire began, bringing the war's cumulative death toll to more than 72,000.

For Safaa Al-Nabaheen, this ceasefire has changed nothing. "It's a lie. In reality, the war has not stopped. It only stopped in the media to appease public opinion," she said. "The (Israeli) strikes continue. We are living in unprecedented chaos. There has been a slight improvement regarding food and water, but the overall situation remains dire."

See alsoIn the middle of winter in Gaza, “half of the inhabitants live in dilapidated tents”

Israel still does not allow foreign journalists to freely travel to Gaza and communication with the outside world remains difficult due to frequent internet shutdowns.

The interviews with Safaa Al-Nabaheen by France 24 were carried out by emails, messages and telephone calls. During an interview on a messaging app, a massive explosion rang out, apparently near his room. But the novelist insisted on continuing the discussion.

The desire to share her story outside Gaza motivates her to continue these days, but hanging on is becoming increasingly difficult. From bombings to bureaucracy, the challenges sometimes seem insurmountable. Despite everything, she continues to work and write to survive.

For several months, she has been trying to leave Gaza to live far from the besieged enclave, but the process is getting bogged down.

An Italian university has sent its application to a foundation for a writer's residency. But she received no response. An international fund for artists and cultural actors in danger supported her “incredibly”. But during the final selection, “they rejected me as soon as they realized I came from Gaza,” says Safaa Al-Nabaheen.

She managed to gain conditional admission to a British university for the following semester, but the conditions included funding and testing, which in turn required a visa; he was also awarded a writing scholarship at an American university, again thanks to the help of a few US-based writers. But the process was unsuccessful because the US government did not evacuate the Palestinians.

On February 2, the Rafah border crossing was partially opened, in a chaotic context. Around 20,000 Gazans need urgent medical treatment abroad, but on the first day Israel allowed only five patients to leave.

Given the conditions, Gazans admitted to Western schools and institutions are aware that they are not on the priority list. As the deadlines for the next semester approach, they see their places and scholarships slip away.

Read also Survivors of the hell of Gaza, Palestinian researchers try to rebuild their lives in France

For Safaa Al-Nabaheen, it is a heartbreaking process. “I can't find the words to describe the extent of the injustice and frustration I experience,” she says helplessly.

After spending years working with the children of Gaza to help them dream of a future beyond the pressing concerns of survival, her own lessons are now a challenge to herself.

But she's not the type to give up. “I am not losing hope. I will never lose hope,” she assures. "There are so many people stuck in difficult places like Gaza. I'm going to keep going. Writing is my way of moving forward."

This article has been adapted from English. Find the original version here.

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