WATERLOO, Canada – The University of Waterloo is mourning the loss of Sally and Dalia Ghazi Ibaid, twin sisters from Gaza, who were killed on December 5, 2024 in an airstrike amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The 26-year-olds had been recently accepted into the prestigious Global Student Relief Initiative at the Canadian university and were preparing to pursue PhDs in system design engineering.
The university community expressed deep sorrow, with officials describing the sisters as “vibrant, bubbly, excited, and full of dreams.”
According to the University of Waterloo, the airstrike also claimed the life of the twins’ mother.
While the university attributes their deaths to an Israeli airstrike, this has not been independently verified, and a response from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) is pending.
Ambitious Scholars with Bright Futures
Sally and Dalia had been eagerly preparing to join the University of Waterloo after being accepted into the initiative, which supports students from conflict zones.
The programme’s coordinator, Professor Tamer Ozsu, highlighted the sisters’ exceptional qualifications and potential.
“These were very highly educated students that we had high hopes for,” Ozsu said.
“Them having not even a chance to come here and try their hand in education and research is quite devastating.”
Sally had graduated from Al-Azhar University with a degree in mechatronics engineering and showcased her innovative accomplishments in her application.
Among her achievements, she designed a smart monitoring system for real-time data collection and created a mass-loading robot.
In an audio recording submitted with her application, Sally said she was excited to pursue her studies and “grow both personally and professionally in the field of mechatronics.”
A Family’s Heartfelt Farewell
The twins’ family expressed their gratitude to the university for its support in a message shared after their deaths.
“Unlike the last year, in the last few days, the twins were vibrant, bubbly, excited, and full of dreams and ambitions,” the family wrote.
“They constantly talked about their PhD study, jokingly calling each other Dr. Sally and Dr. Dalia. Through your help, they saw an end to their and our suffering. Unfortunately, they did not get their opportunity to realise their dreams.”
Impact of the Israel-Hamas Conflict on Education
The war, triggered by a Hamas-led attack on October 7, has led to widespread devastation in Gaza, with Gaza’s Health Ministry reporting over 45,000 Palestinian deaths.
The conflict has decimated educational institutions, leaving students with limited opportunities for learning or escape.
Professor Ozsu emphasised the profound loss to the academic community.
“It’s actually these two girls who were months away from coming here, and that’s important,” he said, adding that the university released a photo of the twins to honour their memory.
A Community in Mourning
The University of Waterloo has made resources available to students affected by the tragedy and reiterated its commitment to supporting scholars from conflict zones.
The loss of Sally and Dalia has also drawn parallels to the death of another Palestinian scholar, Sofyan Taya, a visiting researcher at the university who was killed alongside his family in Gaza last year.
PhD student Nada El-Falou, who volunteers to help students in the relief initiative adjust to campus life, reflected on the sisters’ deaths.
“I can’t express how unfair it feels,” she said. “You don’t choose where you’re born, and yet they were born there, where they were also murdered.”
The tragedy underscores the toll of the Israel-Hamas war on the aspirations of young scholars and the broader academic community.
