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Mosab Abu Toha was captured by Israeli soldiers. Photo/LitHub
GAZA – A Palestinian writer and poet Mosab Abu Toha who had contributed to The New Yorker and other publications reflecting his life in Gaza during the war has been detained by the Israeli military.
Mosab Abu Toha was detained by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “when he reached a checkpoint while leaving from north to south Gaza,” his brother Hamza Abu Toha said in a Facebook post on Monday, reported by CNN.
“His wife and children entered the south, and soldiers arrested my brother Mosab,” Hamza Abu Toha wrote on Facebook. “We have no information about him. It is worth mentioning that the American embassy sent him and his family to travel via the Rafah crossing.”
The reason for Abu Toha’s arrest is unclear. CNN has contacted the IDF for comment. A US State Department spokesperson previously said he had no information to share regarding the situation.
An American Book Award winner and finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for her debut book of poetry, “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ears,” Mosab Abu Toha, 30, has written poignantly about the Israeli airstrikes that have devastated Gaza since the war. . broke out last month between Israel and Hamas.
In a New Yorker essay published on October 20, he described returning to his home in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, days after being evacuated to the Jabalia refugee camp, where he lived with relatives.
“On the main road leading to my house, I encountered the first of many surprising sights. The shop where I used to take my children to buy juice and biscuits is now in shambles. The refrigerator that once held ice cream is now filled with debris. “I smelled explosives, and maybe meat,” he wrote.
(ahm)