Ruba Esmael Abu al-Atta had it all. The young Palestinian woman from Gaza City was well-educated, had a successful husband and two exceptionally beautiful children.

A single photo perfectly depicted that once happy life: Her two children, Sinan and Kinzi holding a graduation sign that read “Mama Ruba is the most beautiful doctor and pharmacist.” In the background, Ruba stood in her graduation gown holding onto her husband, the well-known Palestinian football player, Ahmad Abu al-Atta.

On June 21, an Israeli strike shelled the Abu al-Atta family’s home in the vicinity of the Latin Monastery Church in Gaza City, killing the young couple and both of their children, along with a number of other family members. 

Local media reports in Gaza suggest that the entire Abu al-Atta family in that neighborhood has been wiped out in the Israeli strike, thus removing from the civil registry any evidence of their existence.

Dr. Ruba, however, along with her family, did exist. The traces of their existence are now on social media, depicting images of Ruba and her children and that of the famous ‘captain Abu al-Atta’, one of Palestine’s best football defenders.

Before joining Al-Ahli, known among football fans as the Red Giant, Abu al-Atta played for Gaza Sports, Al-Zaytoun, Al-Sadaqah, Beit Hanoun, and Itihad al-Shejaiya. 

Last March, another top football player, Mohammed Barakat, was killed when his family’s home was bombed on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. He was the first player in Gaza to score 100 goals for a single team. Like Abu al-Atta, Barakat also played for Al-Ahli and represented the Palestinian national team.

According to the Palestinian Football Association, Abu al-Atta’s murder raised the number of Palestinian athletes killed since October 7 to 157, more than 90 of them being footballers. 

Though the once-perfect family photo now only exists in the form of a social media image, Ruba died shortly after leaving a single clue on Facebook, predicting her own death. 

“If we die, please know that we are in peace, and that we are steadfast, and tell the world that we are people with rights.”

(The Palestine Chronicle)