Khitam al-Wasifi (Khitām al-Waşīfī) (ختام يوسف ديب الوصيفي) was a physicist with a remarkable record of research achievements and service to higher education in science. At the time of her death, Dr. al-Wasifi was an Associate Professor of Biophysics, former Head of the Physics Department, and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Science at the Islamic University of Gaza. 

Dr. al-Wasifi was born on 6 April 1966, in Gaza City. After finishing high school in Gaza, she enrolled in the Faculty of Science at the Islamic University where she came to major in physics. She graduated first in her class in 1994 and began to teach on an hourly basis at the university. In 1998, she matriculated in the Islamic University’s newly opened MA program in physics, specializing in optoelectronics, and attained her MA in 2002. Subsequently, she searched for a way to study for her PhD and eventually was able to join the PhD program in Biophysics at Sudan University of Science and Technology. She received her doctorate in 2010. 

Dr. al-Wasifi was a prolific scientist who authored and co-authored over 60 published research papers in the fields of magnetoelectricity and optoelectronics on subjects such as the effect of mobile radiation on life tissues, nonlinear optics, numerical simulation techniques and computational physics, electromagnetic waves, and applications of left-handed materials. Her most recent article was published posthumously in January 2024: “Transverse electric guided modes in metal-LHM-ferrite slab waveguide structures,” with co-authors Sufyan Taya (killed by Israel, see bio in this archive) and Mustafa R. al-Massri,  Optica Applicata 54(1). She also published two books through a German institute on the impact of the mobile phone on the living cells of humans and plants. Dr. al-Wasifi also participated in a number of local and international academic conferences.

Dr. al-Wasifi was awarded the 2022 prize for Palestinian Women’s Intellectual Achievement from the Ministry of Palestinian Women’s Affairs. Female colleagues have testified to the fact that Dr. al-Wasifi led the way for other women in Gaza to pursue careers in physics. She was known by colleagues and friends alike as the “Shaykha of Physicists” in tribute to her illustrious career.

She played a leadership role in politics as well. She was nominated for the Palestinian legislative elections in 2021, which were scheduled for 22 May 2021 but then postponed indefinitely. She also served as the Secretary of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). 

In an interview, she was asked about challenges she faced in her career: “One of the most important difficulties was gaining social approval for a woman going abroad to study by herself especially if she had a household and children. And also the financial problems. I decided to face these problems by continuing my scientific journey, bearing the burdens of it by taking my kids with me and excelling in my studies. More importantly I didn’t let myself get distracted by problems or disagreements that I faced. I always remembered that humans cannot do anything unless they are tested and they rely on their faith and God.” 

Dr. al-Wasifi, age 57, and her husband, Mahmoud Abu Duff, Professor of Education at the Islamic University (see bio in this archive), lived in al-Zaytun, Gaza City with their seven children. They were killed together
when their home in Gaza City was hit by an Israeli missile strike on 1 December 2023.

Photo credits: science.iugaza; Facebook