Stories told from the Gaza Strip
During the two months of Israel's continued bombing, imprisonment, and genocide of the Palestinian population, journalists in Gaza have continued to show the world the atrocities they are experiencing, despite some having shared that they have lost all hope they will stay alive.
Many Palestinian journalists, writers and videomakers have become well-known across Instagram, gaining millions of followers since the bombing of Gaza started in early October.
Instagram and TikTok users talking about the genocide have noted being shadowbanned on the social media platforms where many Palestinian journalists have been posting. Instagram has also removed audio from videos and posts from stories that were discussing the ongoing bombardment of Gaza.
These actions appear to be blatant attempts to silence the truth coming from Palestine, as Israel, the United States and Britain (to name a few countries) continue their ongoing propaganda in support of the genocide.
Israel has long been killing journalists covering its attacks on Palestinians. Since 2000 there have been over 109 journalists killed by Israel, according to the non-profit Visualizing Palestine.
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2000
Aziz Yousef al-Tanh - عزيز يوسف التنح
2001
Mohammad Abd Al Karim al-Bishawi (Mohammad Bishtawi) - محمد عبد الكريم البيشاوي
Othman Abdelqadar al-Qatnani - عثمان عبد القادر القطناني
2002
Ahmad Nu'man (Ahmed Noman, Ahmed Noaman) - أحمد نعمان
Amjad Bahjat al-Alami - أمجد بهجت العلامي
Imad Subhi Abu Zahra - عماد صبحي أبو زهرة
Issam Mithqal Hamza Al Tilawi - عصام مثقال حمزة التلاوي
Jamil Abdullah al-Nawawreh - جميل عبد اللهنواورة
Raffaele Ciriello - رفايلي شرييلو
2003
Fadi Nashaat Alawneh - فادي نشأت علاونة
James Miller - جيمس ميللر
Nazih Adel Darwazeh - نزيه عادل دروزة
2004
Mohammed Abu Halima - محمد عادل أبو حليمة
2008
Fadel Shana'a - فضل صبحي شناعة
2009
Alaa Hammad Mahmoud Murtaja - علاء حماد محمود مرتجى
Basil Ibrahim Faraj - باسل إبراهيم فرج
Ihab Jamal Hasan Al Wahidi (Hassan Al-Wahidi) - ايهاب جمال حسن الوحيدي
Omar Abdel Hafidh Al Silawi - عمر عبد الحافظ السيلاوي
2010
Cevdet Kılıçlar - جودت كيليجلار
2012
Hussam Mohammad Salameh (Hossam Salameh Mohammed) - حسام محمد سلامة
Mahmood Ali Ahmad Al Koumi (Mahmoud Al-Komi, Mohamed Al-Kaoumi) - محمود علي أحمد الكومي
Mohammad Mousa Abu Eisha (Muhammad Abu Aisha) - محمد موسى أبو عيشة
2014
Abdulrahman Ziyad Abu Hin (Abd Al-Rahman Abu Hain) - عبد الرحمن زياد أبو هين
Ahed Afif Zaqout (Ahed 'Afif Yusef Zaqut) - عاهد عفيف زقوت
Ali Shehda Abu Afash - علي شحتة أبو عفش
Bahaa al-Din al-Gharib - بهاء الدين الغريب
Ezzat Salama Duheir (Izzat Dheir) - عزت سلامة ضهير
Hamada Khaled Maqat - حمادة خالد مقاط
Hamid Abdallah Shihab - حامد عبد الله شهاب
Khalid Riyadh Mohammad Hamad (Khaled Rid Muhammad Hamad) - خالد رياض محمد حمد
Mohammad AlDeiri - محمد الديري
Muhammad Majed Daher - محمد ماجد ضاهر
Najla Mahmoud Al Haj (Naglaa Mahmoud al-Hajj) - نجلاء محمود الحاج
Rami Fathi Hussein Rayan - رامي فتحي حسين ريان
Samih Mohammad Al Aryan - سامح محمد العريان
Shadi Hamdi Ayyad - شادي حمدي عياد
Simone Camilli - سيمونه كاميللى
2015
Ahmad Hirbawi (Ahmad Al-Hirbawi) - أحمد الحرباوي
2016
Iyad Sajdia - إياد سجدية
2018
Ahmad Abu Hussein - أحمد أبو حسين
Yaser Murtaja - ياسر مرتجى
2021
Yousef Abu Hussein - يوسف ابو حسين
2022
Ghufran Warsneh - غفران هارون وراسنة
Shireen Abu Akleh - شيرين أبو عاقل
2023
Duaa Sharaf
Jamal Al-Faqaawi
Saed Al-Halabi
Ahmed Abu Mhadi
Salma Mkhaimer
Mohammed Imad Labad
Roshdi Sarraj
Mohammed Ali
Khalil Abu Aathra
Sameed Al-Nady
Mohammad Balousha
Issam Bhar
Abdulhadi Habib
Yousef Maher Dawas
Salam Mema
Husam Mubarak
Issam Abdallah
Ahmed Shehab
Mohamed Fayez Abu Matar
Saeed al-Taweel
Mohammed Sobh
Hisham Alnwajha
Assaad Shamlakh
Mohammad Jarghoun
Ibrahim Mohammad Lafi
Mohamad Al-Bayyari
Mohammed Abu Hatab
Majd Fadl Arandas
Iyad Matar
Imad Al-Wahidi
Majed Kashko
NazmiAl-Nadim
Yasser Abu Namous
Mohamed Al Jaja
Mohamed Abu Hassira
Yahya Abu Manih
Ahmed Al-Qara
Yaacoub Al-Barsh (Mousa Al Barsh)
Ahmed Fatima
Mossab Ashour
Amro Salah Abu Hayah
Mostafa El Sawaf
Hassouneh Salim
Sari Mansour
Abdelhalim Awad
Bilal Jadallah
Alaa Taher Al-Hassanat
Ayat Khadoura
Rabih Al Maamari
Farah Omar
Mohamed abil Al-Zaq
Mohamed Mouin Ayyash
Mostafa Baker
Adham Hassouna
Montaser Al-Sawaf
Abdullah Darwish
Hassan Farajallah
Alaa Al-Sarraj
Nader Al-Nazli
Aml Zahed
Assem Al-Barsh
Mahmoud Matar
Zaher Al Afghani
Hani Madhoun
Assem Kamal Moussa
Hannen Kashtan
Samer Abu Daqqa
Duaa Jabbour
Ola Atallah
Shaima El-Gazzar
Adel Zorob
Abdallah Alwan
Mohammed Khalifeh (Mohammad Saidi)
Mohamed Naser Abu Huwaidi
Ahmad Jamal Al Madhoun
Mohamed Azzaytouniyah
Mohamad Al-Iff
Ahmed Khaireddine
Mohamed Khaireddine
Jabr Abu Hadrous
Huthaifa Lulu
Abdul Karim Odeh
Mohamed Abu Smra
Abd Al-Hamid Al-Qarinawi
Abdelraham Shihab
Ahmad Abu Absah
Alaa Al-Minr
Anas Abu Shimalah
Hathifa Al-Najjar
A’id Al-Najjar
Hathim Harrah
Hamada Al-Yazji
Hanan Ayyad
Iman Al-Aqili
Jamal Haniah
Mahmoud Abu Tharifah
Marwan Al-Sawaf
Ahmad Farjallah (Mohammad Farjallah)
Rajab Al-Naqib
Mustafa Al-Naqib
Narmin Qawas
Ahmad Nahed Masoud
Khamis Salem Deab
Moussa Bursh
Mohammad Fayez Al Hassani
2024
Akram ElShafie
Mustafa Thuraya
Hamza Al Dahdouh
Abdallah Iyad Breis
Heba Al-Abadla
Ahmed Bdeir
Mohamed Jamal Sobhi Al-Thalathini
Yazan al-Zuweidi
Iyad El-Ruwagh
Mohammed Atallah
Rizq Al-Gharabli
Nafez Abdel Jawad (Nafez Muhareb Hamdan)
Yasser Mamdouh El-Fady
Angam Ahmad Edwan
Alaa Al-Hams
Zayd Abu Zayed
Mohamed Yaghi
Muhammad Raslan Shaniora
Issam Haider Al-Lulu
Karam Abu Ajiram
Warl Rajab Abu Fanouneh
Fouad Abu Khammash
Sherif Nafez Okasha
Ahmed Naeem Badir
Muhammad Mesbah Abu Dayer
Ali Salem Abu Ajwa
Ibrahim Mahamid
The complete list of journalists murdered in 2023 was compiled from information from both the Committee to Protect Journalists and Visualizing Palestine.
Of these 178 people, over 75% of their deaths occurred between Oct. 7 and March 28 of 2024.
In an attempt to create further documentation of the stories of those suffering at the hands of Israel, this article will continue to highlight merely some of the journalists telling these stories.
Bisan Owda: "Hi this Bisan from Gaza. I'm still alive."
Bisan Owda (known as @wizard_bisan1 and @wizardbisan2 on Instagram) is a 24-year-old filmmaker from Palestine.
Since Oct. 7 Owda has been documenting her experience during the war on Gaza, including her and her family's evacuation of their home in the Gazan neighborhood Rimal around Oct. 9.
Many of Owda's update videos start with "Hi this Bisan from Gaza. I'm still alive," before she details the bombings and destruction surrounding her.
Owda has continued recording during internet and cellular service blackouts, posting the videos and updates on her account when it becomes possible.
The filmmaker has shared her troubles sleeping and obtaining clean water and food, her inability to shower or find a private place to cry and her struggles with her physical health without access to medical care.
Along with documenting her experiences, Owda is telling the stories of other Palestinians she meets, from a mother giving birth prematurely as a result of shock from an airstrike to small kids working together to clean up rubble outside of the hospital many sought shelter in.
On Dec. 3, Owda made the following post on Instagram:
The photo shows Owda surrounded by rubble and ashes in Gaza. The caption explains her lack of hope in surviving the genocide as well as what she has hoped to do as a community activist. At the end, she shared the following message to the world:
"You are not innocent of what is happening to us, you as governments or peoples that support Israel’s annihilation of my people. We will not forgive you, we will not forgive you, humanity will not forgive you, we will not forget, even if we die, the history will never forget."
Since this post, Owda has continued posting videos of struggles caused by displacement and relentless bombings, such as the lack of menstrual sanitary products, the continuous rain and the incoming winter weather.
As hunger has been ravishing displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Owda has shared what the meals, or lack thereof, have looked like. From a moldy orange to nothing for days, to finally having an egg after 74 days of Israeli bombing.
With her posts, Owda also gives the history of Gazan monuments that have been destroyed, such as the bombing of Mamadani (al-ahli) hospital, one of the oldest hospitals in the Middle East, that killed 800 people, and the bombing of Omari Mosque, the largest mosque in the Gaza Strip.
With the news and entertainment channel Caravan (@Caravanroya on Instagram), Owda has been sharing videos made about Palestinian and Gazan history that were filmed before the start of the October attacks.
The videos are prefaced with the following text: "The Israeli army destroyed everything you will see later."
Owda called for the global strike on Dec. 11 and 12 with other Palestinian journalists and activists. The strike was announced by the Palestinian National and Islamic forces, according to Al Jazeera.
Yara Eid: "I feel guilty for being safe."
Yara Eid is (@Eid_Yara on Instagram) a 23-year-old Palestinian journalist residing in London, though born and raised in Gaza.
Eid grew up in the Al Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip before moving to London for university in 2016. Since moving, Eid has only been able to visit Gaza a handful of times.
Her mother was supposed to visit her in London this winter before the bombardment of Gaza started.
Living through several Israeli aggressions on Gaza played a role in Eid's decision to leave her home for school.
"At 14 I understood what death meant. I saw people turn into body parts in front of my eyes. We survived a massacre," Eid said in a Nov. 8 Instagram post, embedded above.
Despite being in London, Eid has described being physically and mentally impacted by the ongoing attack, from being unable to sleep, eat properly or work and needing to see a physician about her deteriorating health.
Over 60 members of Eid's family have been killed by the Israeli strikes on Gaza. On Oct. 7, Eid's best friend and Palestinian journalist, Ibrahim Mohammad Lafi, was shot and killed.
"The 60 family members I lost, every single one of them had a name, had a dream, had a life, meant so much to me," Yara Eid said.
Lafi, a 21-year-old cameraman and soundman for Ain Media, was killed wearing his press vest and helmet at the Erez Crossing in Gaza Strip.
Eid credited Lafi with being the reason she fell in love with journalism.
On Oct. 15, a friend posted on Eid's account stating that she was taken to the hospital after losing consciousness from the shock of losing 14 family members.
Eid has shared that she is constantly worrying about the safety of her mother in Gaza.
"I didn't know anything about her, if she was alive or not. The only way I could know is by checking the names of the martyrs," Eid said in an interview with Middle East Eye.
At the beginning of the bombardment, while dealing with the grief of losing her best friend and many family members, Eid was featured on several British news channels.
During her interviews, Eid spent much of the time correcting the broadcasters' language and questions. Like many American news channels, British media primarily focused on Hamas, asking Palestinian journalists to condemn the organization's actions.
During an Oct. 8 broadcast, Sky News reporter Mark Austin asked Eid "What do you think Hamas was trying to achieve with what they have done?"
In response, Eid said: "I think this is a bit of a misleading question because actually, we should not be focusing about Hamas, We should be focusing about the colonial regime that's been systematically oppressing people for the last 70 years. A regime that controls not only the West Bank, not only built Israeli settlements, but put over 2 million people in a besieged blockade where they don't have access to clean water, electricity and basic human needs."
In a separate interview with GB News on Oct. 20, Mark Dolan asked Eid "What is your reaction to what happened on the 7th of October?"
Again Eid pointed out that the question was misleading and ignored 75 years of oppression and occupation.
Dolan continued the interview by asking Eid if she would condemn Hamas' actions in isolation.
"I don't see you asking Israeli spokespeople to condemn the actions of the IDF. I don't see you asking them to condemn the killing of more than 1,600 children. What I condemn is the Israeli actions of killing Palestinian civilians and children over and over again.'"
In fact, in the same broadcast, Dolan asked a zionist digital activist, Lizzy Savetsky, if she does "not acknowledge any unacceptable behavior or conduct by the Israeli forces over the years," rather than using the same language of condemnation.
These interviewers' questions were so frequent and similar in fashion that Eid pointed out that she could easily guess what interviewers were going to ask and how they were going to frame the genocide.
In addition to speaking about the genocide on social media and news broadcasts, Eid has been making personal posts about those she has lost due to the ongoing Israeli aggression, not allowing them to be just numbers.
"The media has always dehumanized us Palestinians. We become just numbers, but we're not, you know. The 60 family members I lost, every single one of them had a name, had a dream, had a life, meant so much to me," Eid said in an interview with Middle East Eye.
Roshdi Sarraj: “We must continue sharing our message.”
For over a decade, Roshdi Sarraj was a photojournalist, a filmmaker and co-founder of Ain Media, a Palestinian media production company. For the three decades he was alive, Sarraj was also a son, a husband, a father and a friend.
Sarraj was killed on Oct. 22 during an airstrike on Tal al-Hawa neighborhood that killed over 30 Palestinians.
In 2012, Sarraj and co-founder Yaser Murtaja started Ain Media as a photo documentary project about daily life in Gaza, according to an Ain Media press release posted on Instagram after Sarraj’s death.
Murtaja was shot and killed by Israeli forces in 2018 while wearing a press vest and reporting on a rally.
For Sarraj and Ain Media as a whole, the goal was not only to cover the death and destruction from Israeli aggressions on Gaza but to showcase the culture, life, and people of Gaza.
Some of Ain Media’s coverage includes interviews of entrepreneurs and workers, features on organizations and businesses, coverage of activities and events, a video series of young adults teaching about monuments and stories, along with many other documentaries and short films that can be seen on its YouTube channel: @AinMedia.
During Israel’s aggression on Gaza in May of 2021, Sarraj described to Al Jazeera the dangers of being a journalist in Gaza without sufficient protective equipment and with Israel not distinguishing between journalists, civilians and military officials.
“My family doesn’t stop calling me, fearing that I could be harmed. It is an endless circle of fear and exhaustion. But we must continue sharing our message,” Sarraj said in the 2021 interview.
When the latest aggression started in October, Sarraj and his family were forced to leave their apartment within the first week due to damages. He then moved into his family home in Tal al-Hawa with his wife and nearly one-year-old daughter, according to Al Jazeera.
Yahya Sarraj, Sarraj’s father and the mayor of Gaza, said that Sarraj died shielding his wife and daughter from the airstrike.
This is the latest version of this article as of Feb. 20; I will continue to add to this post, sharing the stories told by Palestinian journalists.
