Jana Al-Najjar
Age 14
Jana was 14, in the 9th grade, and known for being an excellent student. She had a lively, playful personality: a bit mischievous, always bringing energy and laughter wherever she went. She didn’t like mathematics and joked about it with her friends, but she shone in languages like English, Spanish, and Turkish. She loved parties, waited eagerly for her birthday, and cheered loudly whenever she got a perfect score. She was close friends with Rimas Al-Qudra; they competed fiercely for the top spots in every subject together. She dreamed of becoming an English translator, believing that languages could connect people from different parts of the world. Both Jana and Rimas disliked Hamas before 10/7/23, and they especially hated Hamas after their attacks on 10/7/23. The world did not care about their feelings. Or them.
Immediately after the savage murders of innocents by Hamas on 10/7/23, and the savage retaliation bombings of innocents by the Israeli government on 10/7/23, Jana was trying to flee Gaza with her family. Hearing the news of families and children being murdered while trying to get to Rafah, the Al-Najjars decided to wait in Khan Yunis at her grandfather’s house until things “calmed down” and it was safe to leave.
But while she slept on December 26, 2023, Jana and her entire family were murdered by a missile strike through the walls of their home in Khan Younis. Before they all went to sleep that final night, Jana made rice pudding as the six siblings talked together. The house was destroyed in early dawn. Jana was killed under the rubble alongside her sisters, Sarah and Alaa.
Jana was one of the most intelligent, responsible, and kindest people you could ever meet. She was first in her school, her neighborhood, and the entire Gaza Strip, achieving a perfect average of 100%. She was talented in drawing and crafting accessories with beads and seashells. She was like a little mother to 9-year-old Alaa and inseparable from Sarah. Jana was everyone’s friend.
Her sister, Maryam, describes the aftermath as a world turned black and white. The laughter has disappeared from their lives, and the girl who dreamed of connecting the world through language was silenced by the very weapons meant to ensure “security.”
The votes that paid for the weapons
House Bill, H.R. 6126 (House): Emergency supplemental appropriations for Israel