#Wala’at – Palestinian Fighter with Trending Slogan Killed in Gaza

January 30, 2024 Blog, News
Palestinian fighter Ahed Adnan Abu Sitta jumping with joy after firing at an invading Israeli tank. (Photo: video grab)

The Palestinian fighter known for his famous phrase ‘Wala’at’ – #ولعت – has been killed in Gaza, relatives and other activists on social media reported. 

The fighter is believed to be Ahed Adnan Abu Sitta, who became famous around the world, especially in the Middle East, for a single phrase, which he uttered, as he jumped for joy immediately after blowing up an Israeli army tank somewhere in Gaza.  

#Wala’at

In the viral video, shared by Al-Quds Brigades, one of several Resistance fighting forces in the besieged Strip, Abu Sitta takes aim, fires at an invading Israeli tank, then turns around and runs back to his position.

Then, Abu Sitta was heard shouting ‘Wala’at’, a slang Palestinian Arabic word which translates to something like ‘It was lit’, or ‘It is burning’, as he jumped several times for joy.

As Abu Sitta’s comrades were heard shouting with excitement, the Israeli tank was seen in the background while fully engulfed by flames.

The image of the celebrating fighter became one of the most iconic scenes in the ongoing Palestinian resistance in Gaza. It came at a time when Paelstinians were anxious over the state of their Resistance, where a few thousand fighters continued to battle a well-equipped Israeli army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. 

The image of Abu Sitta jumping for joy quickly turned into numerous artistic expressions. For Palestinians, it meant that, despite heavy and unprecedented losses among civilians, the Resistance remained strong.

According to local sources, cited by Al-Jazeera, Abu Sitta was killed when a large crowd of Palestinians was targeted by Israeli bombs near a mosque in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in southern Gaza. 

‘Hero of the Resistance’

Abu Sitta was mourned by his cousin, Palestinian poet Jihad al-Turbani, who wrote on X, in Arabic: “With faithful hearts and heads held high, I share with you the news of the martyrdom of my cousin, the hero of Resistance, Ahed Adnan Abu Sitta, the originator of the saying ‘Wala’at’, during his resistance to Zionist army invaders”.

The term Wala’at, however, was not confined to social media, where it trended as the number one hashtag in Arabic for many days.

Indeed, it became the term that ordinary Palestinians, including fighters, used to describe any Israeli military vehicle blown up by Resistance fighters in the ongoing war. 

Well over 1,000 Israeli tanks and other military vehicles have been destroyed by Resistance fighters since the start of the war, according to the military spokesman of Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida.

What makes Israel’s military losses particularly worth noting is not only the fact that it is the highest ratio of Israeli military losses in any of its wars against the Arabs. Unlike previous wars, Israel’s military setbacks in Gaza are not caused by traditional military warfare against standing armies, but against a small group of fighters, who are mostly manufacturing their own weapons and munitions underground. 

Moreover, while Palestinian fighters receive little or no support from the outside, as they have been under a hermetic Israeli siege for many years, the Israeli army continues to receive billions of dollars worth of state-of-the art military hardware from the US and other Western countries.

(PC, AJA)

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