The eyes of Gaza
For the past 18 months, Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna has used his camera to recount the story of life in the land of fierce conflict in Gaza. She is known to the public through realistic, painful scenes, allowing the world to witness evacuations, survival and resilience in the horrors and devastation of bombs and bullets.
This 25-year-old female journalist only has one wish, if she dies, let that death make the whole world pay attention. "I don't want to be just a hot short report or an unknown number in a crowd, I want a death known to the whole world, an impact that will last over time and an image that cannot be buried by time or place" - the female journalist, called Fatem by her friends, wrote on social media last August.
However, earlier this year, just one day after Hassouna learned that the documentary about life in Gaza she was participating in was about to premiere in Cannes, France, she and five family members, including her pregnant sister, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Al Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
Hassouna's passing marks another journalist killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip. The death of photojournalist Hassouna also signals a voice, an important witness of the Palestinians from inside the besieged land that has been lost.
As of April 25, 2025, at least 176 journalists, cameraman and media workers have died in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the CPJ's database of the names, nationality, workplace organizations and deaths. Of this data, CPJ recorded 168 deaths, including Palestinians, 2 Israelis and 6 Lebanese.
Palestinian journalists now face unprecedented risks, from airstrikes, hunger, evacuations, to the destruction of their homes. "Without protective equipment, without international presence, without communication, food or drinks, they continue their important work to carry out the mission of telling the truth to the world," said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, Program Director of the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) in New York.
A new report from the Price of War project by the Watson Institute on International and Public Affairs at Brown University, US, shows that the number of journalists killed is as high as 232. The statistics report shows that 13 people have died each month since the conflict escalated and concluded that more journalists have died in Gaza than in any other war, calling it the worst conflict ever for journalists and reporters.
In the World Press freedom Index Report 2025 published on May 3, the Non-Border Reporters Organization concluded that Gaza has become the world's most dangerous territory for journalists.
Put your soul in your hands and walk
With continuous restrictions from Israel preventing foreign journalists and media from entering Rafah, Palestinian reporters inside Gaza such as Hassouna have become the main source of information for the outside world. But the price they have to pay, sometimes with their own lives.
"Put Your soul on Your Hand and Walk" is a collaboration between Iranian documentary director Sepideh Farsi - who cannot enter Gaza, and Hassouna - who cannot leave this land.
The meeting between the female director and the female reporter was a surprise opportunity. A Palestinian refugee in Cairo, Egypt, told Ms. Farsi: "You have to meet a young girl who lives in the same neighborhood as me in Gaza."
Through hundreds of video calls that spans a year, director Farsi and Hassouna recount the battle through the eyes of the 25-year-old photojournalist. She has become my eyes in Gaza, and I am the connection between her and the outside world, Farsi wrote in the description of the film Putting your soul into your hands and walking on the festivals website.
The female director added that Hassouna "opened her soul to me". The name of the film comes from her own words: When taking photos here, you have to put your soul in your hands to walk. That's how she describes her job," said Ms. Farsi.
Director Farsi called Hassouna a "talented, curious, generous, resilient" person who is determined to record the conflict "for humanity and for the world", despite all the dangers he faces every day. "The things she told me go beyond what we see in the media," the director said.
In an interview with Vulture, the Iranian documentary director said: Sometimes I ask, dont you mind taking photos of dilapidated bodies? She replied: "I think it needs to be recorded, so I did it, I didn't think much about"".
Director Farsi said that Hassouna has always affirmed that he will stay with Gaza. "She said: As long as there is a fight, I have to stay there, fight back and defend my homeland" - she said.
Hassouna's house was attacked just hours after the photo reporter or news that the documentary she participated in would be released at a film festival in France. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the house was attacked because it had a Hamas member in hiding. Director Farsi called this an "unreasonable" accusation. Its unbelievable, its a surprising coincidence. This is the bloodiest war ever for journalists," she said.
Hassouna plans to get married in the next few months. She told me that she was recording this battle for humanity and for the world, but also for her future children to know what their mothers had gone through. Those are the closings of the film. But now there will be no more children. She passed away" - director Farsi choked up.
