Our Youngest Contributor Was Killed at 11 Years Old with Family in Israeli Airstrike: We Mourn Lama, 'The Voice of Gaza'

By Palestine Chronicle Staff

Lama Nasser, 11, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. (Photo: supplied)

In her videos, Lama mimicked the demeanor of professional journalists, often enlisting friends of similar or younger ages to participate.

The voice of an aspiring journalist, 11-year-old Lama Nasser Al-Badrasawi, was tragically silenced when an Israeli airstrike targeted her home near Gaza City, killing her entire family. Lama was a contributor to the Palestine Chronicle, driven by a desire to document the realities of life in Gaza.

As the conflict escalated and professional journalists were systematically targeted, hundreds of volunteers, including children, stepped forward to chronicle their lives and the unfolding atrocities on social media.

Lama was one of these brave young voices. With the dedicated help of her mother, Samah, 35, Lama honed her English skills, continuing her education even as her family sought refuge in various shelters throughout the war.

In her videos, Lama mimicked the demeanor of professional journalists, often enlisting friends of similar or younger ages to participate. In one particularly poignant video, Lama’s friends concluded the recording by collectively shouting, “Stop the genocide.” The Palestine Chronicle later discovered that these children were sitting near their parents’ mass grave, close to their shelters.

Samah was not only Lama’s teacher and producer but also her biggest fan. She had a detailed vision for Lama’s future, insisting that once the war ended, Lama would be educated to become “the voice of Gaza.” This dream was shattered when an Israeli bomb, striking a six-story building in the city, extinguished Lama’s voice forever, killing her, both her parents, and all her siblings.

“Samah was one of the best mothers I knew, doing everything in her power – even amid a genocide – to empower her children, especially sweet Lama,” Palestinian writer and academic Zarefah Baroud wrote on Facebook.

“We worked together to help Lama make some powerful content and Samah was so so so proud of her daughter,” Baroud, who is also Lama’s cousin added.

Beyond the 230 Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza, hundreds more bloggers, social media activists, and others striving to convey Palestinian suffering during the conflict have also been killed, with Lama being among the most recent victims.

Below, the Palestine Chronicle features a transcription of Lama’s last video, a testament to her courage and dedication.

“Gaza is a place where childhood is intertwined with suffering. Children in Gaza live in one of the world’s most challenging environments.

“They try to live their small dreams in a world filled with destruction.

“Children are going through catastrophic and difficult conditions due to the ongoing aggression that has lasted for more than a year.

“In Gaza, children are suffering from starvation. There is no food to eat. Also, they suffer from the spread of epidemics, especially polio.

“They (the children) have been deprived of their right to education, because the Israeli occupation destroyed schools and universities.

“Instead of going to school, and sitting in the classroom seats, they sit beside their fathers’ graves or stand in a queue to fill water for their families.

“Children of Gaza wish for this genocide to stop and live in peace like any child in the world.

“Stop the genocide!”

(The Palestine Chronicle)