On Thursday, December 7, 79-year-old Hadia Nassar, a Palestinian woman who gained international attention for being ‘older than Israel,’ was shot dead outside her home in the Gaza Strip. The news was reported by Palestinian photographer Saleh Aljafarawi, who had recently captured Nassar’s resilience in the face of adversity.
Expressing his grief, Aljafarawi wrote on X, “You were martyred, my beloved. May God have mercy on you and make your resting place Paradise.”
The photographer, who had documented Nassar’s life amid the Israeli war on Gaza, learned from his cousin that the elderly woman was targeted by members of the Israeli army right at her doorstep.
According to Al-Jazeera, Aljafarawi’s cousin said that “members of the Israeli army sniped at her at the door of her house.” The elderly woman had previously become a symbol of resilience during the Israeli war on Gaza when she appeared in a viral video clip shot by Aljafarawi.
In the video, Nassar, holding her identity card, was asked by the Palestinian photographer if she was indeed older than Israel. Nassar affirmed her connection to Palestinian land, becoming a symbol of the enduring spirit of the Palestinian people.
