They Killed Habibi

A book that takes us into the heart of darkness of our world and teaches us what it means to love.

“I thought the greatest pain in life was losing both my parents. Then I lost my soulmate, and I saw all the gardens of my heart go up in flames.”

What does it mean to struggle every day to survive in the wasteland that Gaza has become? Shrouq Aila, an award-winning journalist, mother, and widow, tells us through her story, that of a woman trying to raise a daughter alone, in the grip of famine and under the fire of incessant Israeli bombardment.

With the urgency of a desperate appeal and the disarming strength of someone who maintains her lucidity intact in the epicenter of horror, Shrouq recounts the killing of her husband, the destruction of her home, the constant escapes and temporary shelters, the attempts to protect and feed her infant daughter, and the anguish of not being able to answer her questions or allay her fears. We glimpse the reality of what it means to be a journalist in Gaza today—reporting news to the world on camera while having eaten only a spoonful of rice that day.

In Shrouq’s words, the tragedy of genocide loses the abstract nature of news reports and becomes flesh, face, breath. But They Killed Habibi is also a testament to human resilience and the courage of a people whose determination to rebuild their future on the rubble remains unshakeable.