Author Archives: Dalila Henniche Maali

As a geoscientist, I spent years writing technical reports about sedimentary rocks, each one telling a story of millions of years old. My imagination travelled through time, reconstructing glaciers, seas, channels, deserts, and floodplains to understand how landscapes evolved. Yet nothing in my scientific work prepared me for writing a far more personal story, the story of my friend Iyad from Gaza, and the cause I have carried in my heart since childhood, across countries and continents.

I met Iyad more than twenty-five years ago in Paris at the Cité Universitaire Internationale, a beautiful residence where students from around the world lived among historic buildings representing different nations. It was a place where cultures mixed naturally, where ideas were exchanged freely, and where friendships formed across borders. We were part of what we jokingly called the “Arab elite,” young scholars from different parts of the Arab world completing PhDs in a wide range of disciplines. Many of us stayed in Europe or moved to North America to pursue careers in research and scientific innovation.

Iyad chose a different path. He wanted to return to Gaza and help his own people.

He was born in a refugee camp in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. His family had fled Jaffa during the Nakba in 1948. He studied in UNRWA schools and worked tirelessly to secure a better future for himself and his family. His academic success earned him a scholarship to France, where he completed an MSc and a PhD in Robotics at prestigious institutions including École des Mines de Paris and INRIA. His achievements were remarkable, but the war never stopped destroying the life he tried to build.

Since his return to Gaza, Iyad and his family endured every major conflict: 2008, 2012, 2014, 2021, and the devastating war that began in October 2023. Their days were marked by bombardments, power cuts, and constant fear for their children’s lives. Homes were hit, schools destroyed, and loved ones killed or injured.