Her final words were not just passing lines, they were the heartfelt will of a mother who knew that death lurked around every corner. Palestinian journalist Maryam Abu Daqa, assassinated by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, left behind a message brimming with grief and tenderness for her only son, Ghaith. In it, she urged him not to mourn her when death takes her, but to pray for her, hold his head high, and maintain his prayers.
“My darling, my son, I want you never to forget me…” wrote Abu Daqa, who was killed on Monday along with five other journalists in a new attack targeting Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. A sixth journalist was also killed in the Mawasi area.
In her will, published by the Palestinian News Agency, she wrote: “I want you to pray for me, not cry over me, so I may be happy. I want you to lift my name high, to be successful, outstanding, of great status, and a businessman.”
She concluded: “You are my beloved, my heart, my support, my soul, and my son who brings me pride. I entrust you, Ghaith, with your prayer, pray, then pray, then pray, my son. Your mother, Maryam.”
Just minutes before her death, Maryam appeared exhausted, leaning her weary body against the lift at Nasser Medical Complex. She whispered words of faith and acceptance: “Paradise awaits, peace and contentment. Who said one who returns to their Lord has lost?” As if bidding the world farewell with serenity.
Maryam was known among her colleagues for her relentless reporting and deeply human stories that touched global hearts. Yet she paid with her life for telling the truth, after already losing family members and her close colleague Ibrahim Mahmoud in the ongoing genocide.
According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, the number of journalists killed by Israeli occupation forces since 7 October 2023 has risen to 246. Meanwhile, Israeli occupation continues to target hospitals, medical teams, aid workers, and journalists, ignoring repeated international appeals to protect civilians and humanitarian personnel.
The genocide has so far claimed 62,744 lives and left 158,259 wounded, most of them women and children. Over 9,000 people remain missing, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and famine has already killed 300 Palestinians, including 117 children.
Maryam Abu Daqa’s will stands as a powerful testimony to a crime against both journalism and humanity. She sought to plant hope in her child’s heart, while the occupation sought only to plant death in her life.
