Palestinian journalist Maryam Abu Daqa was martyred this morning following an Israeli airstrike targeting the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. This attack marks another crime against journalists and medical facilities. Maryam, who was documenting the tragedy of displaced persons and the wounded from inside the hospital, never ceased to convey the reality despite her body weakening from hunger. She became the story she had long reported, bidding farewell in a painful moment as a martyr of both word and image.

Her life was full of sacrifice and dedication. Maryam was not just a passing journalist but a fighting mother, a loyal colleague, a devoted daughter, and a person of noble humanitarian stances. Known for telling human stories from the heart of tragedy, her social media accounts continuously conveyed the suffering of children, the wounded, and martyrs. She never lost her smile while playing with children in front of the camera even amid bombardment.

Her colleagues praised her dedication, noting she silently donated a kidney to her father and refused to publicize her sacrifice, believing giving is nobler than showmanship. During the war, she accompanied her martyr colleague Hassan Aslih despite repeated threats targeting him, standing courageously by his side to witness massacres until her last coverage.

Like any mother, her heart was attached to her only son, Ghaith, whose picture adorned her personal account as he accompanied her on a work mission. Ghaith was sent away from Gaza with relatives at the war’s start for his safety, while she remained in Gaza performing her duties despite missing him deeply.

She documented her longing for him over two years, writing touching words on his last birthday from the heart of absence, hoping to reunite soon: “Ghaith, you are my most precious possession, my refuge in this life… Happy birthday, the greatest gift God gave me. I love you with all my heart and count the days until I see you again.”

Maryam bore painful losses in her short life, including losing her mother during a harsh displacement journey, the martyrdom of her nephew, and then her closest colleague “Abu Anas.” Despite all, she never stopped her journalistic work, remaining a faithful witness to Gaza’s wounds.

Her colleague Samar Abu Al-Ouf said: “Maryam sent her only son away because she feared for him at the war’s start, the hardest decision for her. She was deprived of seeing him for two years even though he was her soul, but his safety was paramount. Her mother died during the war, yet she continued her work. Then her dearest colleague was martyred, but she did not stop.”

Maryam’s last appearance was captured as she rested exhausted on one of Nasser Hospital’s elevators, sighing and singing: “Paradise and bliss await and satisfaction; who said that those who depart to their Lord are losers?” Half an hour before her martyrdom, as if bidding farewell peacefully to leave a legacy of loyalty and courage.

Maryam Abu Daqa was not just a journalist but a story of resistance and a human voice that refused to be silenced. She left behind a child who will carry her memory, colleagues who will immortalize her biography, and a people who will remember her sacrifice to convey their suffering even when bombardment silenced her voice.