Al-Qalam 
She was due to participate in the Olympics until an Israeli attack left her amputated, which eventually ended her life, writes Abubaker Abed of Al Jazeera.
Deir el-Balah, Gaza – At 24, Nagham Abu Samra was already a sporting icon in Gaza.
She had not only earned a black belt in an inspiring karate career but also completed two degrees (bachelor’s and master’s) in physical education from the now-demolished Al-Aqsa University in Gaza.
In 2021, Nagham also launched her own sports center in the besieged enclave, urging young girls in Gaza to take up sports, especially karate.
She was a role model for all girls studying physical education at the university, which now lies as a pile of rubble.
It was the only university in Gaza that provided this curriculum and she was keen to inspire young girls to take up sport.
In January, Nagham died in an Egyptian hospital, succumbing to her wounds sustained during an Israeli attack that also killed her sister Rosanne in December.
She had been in a coma after having been moved from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, to the border with Egypt before being taken across it to a hospital in El Arish.
A hospital official in Gaza told Al Jazeera that Nagham was brought in with her right leg amputated and severe head injuries. Surgery was too risky given her situation and she was on life support, the official added.
“Her case was one of the most severe. We knew her survival chances were reducing by the day but we had to give it a try whatever the circumstances,” nurse Mohammad Yousef from Al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza, told Al Jazeera.
“She was unconscious [the day she was brought into the hospital] and spent almost all her time like that, suffering and shaking immensely.
“We were very keen to help her as much as possible. The fact that she was a sports icon in Palestine and a former karate champion pushed us to work even more vigorously on her case. We knew she needed the utmost care which we showed complete readiness for.
“In the first three to four days she was at the hospital, her situation was improving. However, she started having a high and unusual fever with chest inflammation.”
“I don’t usually look like this – Nagham’s condition has devastated me and I can’t bear to see her like this,” he said, his voice breaking with the pain of seeing his daughter suffer.
Amid its war on Gaza that has killed nearly 30,000 people and wounded at least 70,000, Israel has also targeted hospitals and medical infrastructure across the Strip, where drones, jets, and soldiers targeted the facilities’ vicinity, laying siege before entering them.
“We needed to move her out of Gaza but needed a permit to let her leave,” an official at Al-Aqsa Hospital said.
“We had been calling out to the international community and medical institutions across the world for help over many weeks but we didn’t get any.
“When she was allowed to cross into Egypt, it was too late.”
Nagham fell in love with karate as a child. She was well-known for her agility, softness, and talent from the early age of six.
She succeeded in being an icon for the Palestinian sports community, representing Palestine from a very young age in 2011. She finished runner-up twice in the Palestine Karate Championship (2017 and 2018) before finally winning the title in 2019.
“The first thing I gained from karate is personal strength, which encompasses the strength of character and willpower,” Nagham said in an interview with Palestinian outlet Quds News Network.
Her impressive performances, quick rise, and dedication to the sport made the Palestine Olympic Committee take notice. Nagham was in line to represent Palestine at the Paris Olympics scheduled to take place this year.
Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestine Olympic Committee, described Nagham’s loss as huge, adding that it will leave a gaping hole for Palestine in the world of sport.
