Heba Assaf
Age 19
Heba was 19. A close neighbor friend described her simply: “She was a 19 year old girl. She was very beautiful.” She was a young woman at the beginning of her adult life, in a place where being 19 meant you had already survived more than most people three times your age. Heba really wanted to leave Gaza with her family. For months, they tried to raise money through her neighbor friend’s online donation campaigns. The Rafah crossing out of Gaza was closed, trapping everyone to starve and die, but they all wanted to be ready if they were ever finally allowed out.
After the men stalked, bombed, and murdered her, her neighbor was asked why Heba didn’t leave Khan Yunis. She replied that Heba said: “All places are dangerous. The Israelis have not yet determined which places are safe.” Heba had said she would leave when she was told to evacuate. The person she was speaking with explained: “They did not ask Heba.” There was no safe place to go.
On the morning of May 5, 2025, the house next door was missiled. Eleven of Heba’s neighbors were murdered, including a 1-year-old girl named Alma and two newborn babies named Saif and Yahya. A wall fell from that house and crushed Heba’s head. After Heba was buried the next day, her family went back to their destroyed home because there was no space left in the crowded “safe areas” for them to put a tent.
The votes that paid for the weapons
House Bill, H.R. 8034: Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024
House Bill, H.R. 815 (Senate): National Security Supplemental—Trojan Horse (shell: Veterans bill)
Joint Resolution, S.J.Res. 33: Block arms sale to Israel—2000-lb bombs (reattempt)