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Journalists Show Us A Glimpse from Gaza’s Street

  • Writer: SAJIA UDDIN
    SAJIA UDDIN
  • Jun 13, 2024
  • 8 min read

Updated: Oct 29, 2024

by Sajia Uddin


Ever since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7th, many around the world have been aware of the war that has been going there since the 1940s. Israel’s response to the Hamas attack was to declare war on Gaza. Ever since then, Israel has been carpet-bombing and launching strikes on Gaza, leading to more than 30,000 deaths.

 

In the midst of all the destruction that pervades Gaza’s streets, aid workers and journalists have been killed, injured, and gone missing while risking their lives to showcase the challenges of human rights being faced by ordinary people in Gaza. Despite the risk, many heroes have come forward to assist the people there.

 

The Israel-Gaza War has resulted in a high number of casualties, including journalists and media workers. According to the CPJ(Committee to Protect Journalists), at least 95 journalists and media workers were among the over 34,000 killed since the war began on October 7. The casualties include more than 33,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza and around 1200 in Israel.

 

As of April 11, 95 workers and journalists have been confirmed dead, with many others reported missing, injured, or arrested. These brave individuals are risking their lives by going to Gaza, which is a dangerous place to be. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have informed the press that they cannot guarantee the safety of journalists working in the Gaza Strip. These journalists are human beings who have families in Palestine, some of whom have already lost their lives. Just like any other person, journalists require basic necessities such as food, water, and a safe place to rest. By not guaranteeing the safety of the press, the IDF is showing the wrongs that have been committed against the Palestinian people.

 

Some of the brave journalists in Gaza are Motaz Azaiza, Plestia Alaqad, Akram Al Satarri & Wael Al-Dahdouh.

 

 

Motaz Azaiza

Motaz Hilal Azaiza is a 25-year-old Palestinian photographer. Azaiza was raised in the Deir Al-Balah Refugee Camp in Gaza and is facing hardships caused by Israel’s occupation. His childhood was all in Gaza where he graduated in 2021 and completed his studies in English Language & Literature at Gaza’s Al-Azhar University, which is in ruins due to Israel’s bombing.

 

Motaz’s original goal was to show the beauty of Gaza through his photography of the Palestinian people and its former beauty. In an article published on CNN, Motaz stated, “I want to capture the beauty of Gaza, not the war on Gaza. But I don’t have the option.” He also added, “When something happens… I have to take pictures, I have to document, but when I come to post them, I feel ‘oh, you’re destroying the beauty.”

 

Motaz has been creating and sharing videos, pictures, and speeches to shed light on his own experiences and the harsh reality of how the Israeli government has been treating Palestinians since the war started. Despite being any other young college graduate, he has been doing his best to raise awareness and make a difference.


Motaz is a witness to many atrocities that happened in the war, including the death of more than 30,000 people declared by the health ministry in Gaza. Some have been arrested, some are missing, and some have been forgotten. He wants everyone to realize that it's not just content but the harsh reality of humans facing human injustice and the fear of not knowing when another bomb will strike.


Right now, Motaz has currently fled Gaza and taken refuge in Doha, Qatar after being rejected by the Israeli government to go out. He has been giving talks at various universities, including the University of Michigan and NYU, and posting about them on Instagram to his more than 18 million followers. Motaz is recognized as one of the heroes who has been helping Gaza.

 

Plestia Alaqad


Plestia Alaqad is a 22-year-old Palestinian journalist who was raised in Beit Lahia, Gaza. She attended school abroad and graduated in 2022 from Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus.

 

Initially, Plestia's intention on social media was to showcase makeup videos, photos of Turkey and Cyprus, and her daily life. r, after returning to Gaza on October 7th and worrying about her family's safety, she began posting videos and pictures about Gaza and her thoughts on the difficulties faced due to Israel's continuous aggression.

 

Plestia Alaqad stated a few days before fleeing Gaza, “I used to always wear my press vest and helmet.. but lately I stopped wearing them. I don’t feel safe, especially when wearing the press vest and helmet.” The fact that Israel is also risking the lives of citizens of other countries and not guaranteeing their safety shows the extent of the destruction and violations they have been committing against the Palestinian people.

 

Plestia has been posting numerous posts about her feelings regarding the bombing and a large number of people being forced to evacuate from the North to the South in search of shelter because their homes had been destroyed. She expressed in one of her posts, "I cannot find the words to describe what is happening or what I saw...people are evacuating hopelessly from the North to the South because they have no other options...I recorded this video on November 9th, but I was unable to post it." The video depicts a nationwide displacement in Gaza, which is referred to as Nakba.

 

Plestia has been documenting the crisis in Gaza since October 7, 2023, and posting about it on Instagram for her more than 4 million followers. She stated, "Life in Gaza was never normal, but I miss what I thought was a 'normal' life." Before Plestia started covering Gaza’s bombing, she was simply a college student with families and friends that she loves.

 

Plestia has fled Gaza and taken refuge in Australia due to Israel's targeting of Palestinian journalists. She is concerned for the safety of herself and her family and fears that even posting and being an activist could put the lives of her loved ones at risk. Eventually, she made the difficult decision to leave Gaza in order to seek safety in Australia. How much suffering and death needs to happen before the world realizes that we are all humans and we all deserve to live?

 

 Akram Al Satarri

 

Akram Al Satarri, a 48-year-old freelance journalist, reported for both NBC and Reuters. He currently resides in Gaza and has been covering the latest news and incidents from the area.

 

Akram’s goal was to report on different things like weather and events happening in Gaza as a reporter journalist. However, this changed when he wished to focus more on the suffering of the people in Gaza. He describes journalists as "change agents" trying to improve the people's dire situation.


Akram has been documenting the aftermath of the bombings taking place in Gaza. He wants to bring awareness to all the suffering faced by ordinary people in Gaza. According to a video report, Akram stated to NBC News that based on experts, “...as the rocket that hit & killed 900 people cannot be a Palestinian rocket.” He also talked about how the hospitals are crucial during this time but some are being torn down by the bombing and some are overflooded.

 

Akram said in an interview in the article, In Gaza, Palestinian journalists are documenting a war they’re also trying to survive written by D.Parvaz, “I want the people outside Gaza to know that the situation that Gazans have been living in is extremely unbelievable, inconceivable in the sense of the extent of suffering ... and they need to know that it can within their reach to change the situation if they intensified their activism ... and communicated in the U.S. with their congressmen and [members of parliament] in the U.K..” Akram is encouraging people to increase their efforts to improve the current situation in Gaza. He believes that intensifying activism, protests, and calls for action is the only way to make a difference. Some people have also been boycotting certain brands as a form of protest.

 

Currently, Akram is still in Gaza and risking his own life to get the news out to the outside world about all the catastrophes faced by the Palestinians.

 

Wael Al-DahDouh

Wael Al-DahDouh is a 54-year-old Gaza bureau chief for Al Jazeera, he supervises a group of reporters. He is a veteran Palestinian journalist known for reporting the situation happening in Gaza.

 

Dahdouh was born in 1970 to a wealthy family in Gaza City. He spent 7 years in Israeli prisons during his youth due to his participation in the first-ever Intifada (1987-1993). Intifada is used to describe periods of violent Palestinian protest against Israel. The First Intifada was from 1987-1990 and the Second from 2000-2005.


Originally Dahdouh was focused on studying medicine abroad but changed his mind to journalism when Israel refused to give in to the protest. The goal of the protest was for Israel to give up the territories it had occupied. According to PBS, Israel’s response to the First Intifada included a government policy to break the bones of the protestors. Israeli Information Centre of Human Rights in the Occupied Territories said in the First Intifada, Netenyahu’s government killed at least 1,000 Palestinians and injured more than 130,000 people. Many people suffered, some being locked up in prisons and others tortured. This is only the First Intifada with another being followed after certain years. Dahdouh faced many hardships while in prison for 7 years. (caption for this photo: Women led most of the protests during both Intifadas)

 

In 2004, Wael Al-Dahdouh joined Al Jazeera as a reporter. In 2014, his home in the Nuseirat refugee camp was hit by an Israeli attack, resulting in the tragic loss of his wife, two children (aged 15 and 7), a grandson who was just under two months old, and eight other family members. Adding to this tragedy, in early January, Dahdouh lost his son, Hamza, as well as a journalist from Al Jazeera, Mustafa Thuraya. An Israeli missile injured Dahdouh and his cameraman Abu Daqqa, and Abu Daqqa died shortly after.

 

Dahdouh calls for the world to guarantee or at least be accountable for the safety of Palestinian journalists and many other journalists. He wants the war to end and to stop the killing of so many people. He spoke for all the Palestinians, as stated in an article, written by Marc in El Pais, “... when he said they are being murdered twice: once by bombs, and once by the silence and [outside] complicity with the genocide against the people of Gaza.”

 

Since Dahdouh is still injured, he left Gaza, around January 2024, through the Rafah border crossing Egypt to receive the medical treatment he needs in Qatar. He is still receiving medical help but his contribution wasn’t forgotten by the people he helped.

 

Conclusion

These heroes have lost most of their families and have trauma from all the disastrous events due to the aggression of the IDF. Should we sit around and watch this happen? These journalists in addition to more have suffered from everything happening in Gaza including missiles, people deaths, family deaths, lifetime injuries, and the mental trauma from tragic events. There is no side to this war, just people trying to survive something they were put in. We need to support and advocate for the change that results in peace.

 

Additional Info:

There are also recent incidents of journalists being deliberately attacked which goes back to Plestia’s fear of being an activist. It seems like the IDF doesn’t want the news of Gaza going out to the world. Now even activists can’t be protected for believing in their own opinions. In NBC News, there was a video called “Journalist loses a leg after an Israeli missile strike in Gaza.” The group kept insisting on how they were “deliberately” targeted and one comrade even had his leg amputated. Can you imagine facing death every single day or losing your leg? These are things faced by these people and journalists are in danger because they are trying to get their message to the outside world who aren’t doing anything and they have lost their hope. Some just keep going for the survival of this war.

 

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