"We will return to Yibna one day".. The story of a geography teacher who carried the dream of return until martyrdom
Palestine Online newspaper publishes the story of Hajj Adnan Shaaban Jarad (66 years old), a geography teacher and refugee from the destroyed village of Yibna, who was martyred on November 16, 2023, in an Israeli strike targeting his family home in the al-Zaytun neighborhood east of Gaza, forty days after the martyrdom of his son Ibrahim on October 7, 2023. His second son Khaled and his son-in-law Mu'taz Abu Kuwayk were also martyred, while his wife was injured. The article recounts his biography as a teacher in UNRWA schools, his dream of returning to Yibna, and the circumstances of the martyrdom and the siege that prevented burial of the martyrs in a cemetery.
Palestine Online newspaper publishes an extensive file on Hajj Adnan Shaaban Jarad (66 years old), a geography teacher and refugee from the destroyed village of Yibna in the Ramle district, who was martyred on November 16, 2023, in an Israeli strike targeting his family home in the al-Zaytun neighborhood east of Gaza City. His second son Khaled (35 years old) and his son-in-law Mu'taz Abu Kuwayk (37 years old) were also martyred, while his wife, Hajja Umm Shaaban, and several family members were injured. His eldest son Ibrahim (29 years old) had been martyred on the first day of the war, October 7, 2023. The article recounts the biography of Hajj Adnan as a geography teacher in UNRWA schools for decades, where he instilled in his students the dream of returning to the village of Yibna, which was destroyed in 1948. The eldest son, Shaaban Jarad (43 years old), recalls the details of the direct strike that targeted his father with a reconnaissance missile while he was checking on the wounded, 20 minutes apart from the martyrdom of Khaled and Mu'taz. He adds that the area was completely closed and besieged, forcing the family to bury the martyrs in land adjacent to the house. The article conveys testimonies from the wife, Hajja I'tidal Jarad (65 years old), who describes losing the pillar of the house. The article blends biography with family testimonies in a eulogistic framework focusing on sacrifice and steadfastness.