Currently, Palestine is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. According to the International Federation of Journalists, since the beginning of the war, at least 116 journalists and media workers have been killed according to the CPJ. The Committee to Protect Journalists have called this the ‘deadliest period for journalists’ since it started to collect data in 1992. In June, Faiz’s family home was burned down in an Israeli military offensive that destroyed 85 percent of residential buildings in his neighbourhood of Shujaiya. "My house was beautiful; it held so many memories,” he said. "I had a library. It contained awards I had won for my journalism, all of which were destroyed. When we went to see what was left, all we could find in the rubble was the remains of my children's toys" Faiz had previously rebuilt the house after it was partially destroyed in a missile attack in 2014. “This war is fierce and inhumane. I've lost a lot”, said Faiz, who is grieving the deaths of members of his extended family, friends and colleagues. “The entire neighbourhood I used to live in doesn't exist anymore.” 

Though violence towards journalists has escalated since 7 October, Faiz points out that Israel’s targeting of Palestinian media workers is nothing new. “I was directly and deliberately targeted in 2008 by an Israeli missile that resulted in the amputation of both my legs” he said. “After the injury I wasn't sure I'd return to my work,” he recalled, but he was back to photojournalism within a year. “My injury only increased my strength and motivation to work in the field of journalism, to expose the crimes carried out by the occupation and tell the truth to the world," he said. “It is my duty as a Palestinian and as a human” Faiz still goes to the scene of every missile strike he can, despite having almost paid the ultimate price for his work. He begins most days trying to get in touch with his colleagues who have worked through the night: “I can't work at night because it is difficult to see and to get around with my chair,” he said. In practice, he often sets out to document the aftermath of Israel’s deadly nighttime raids having failed to contact other journalists, due to the communications blackout, which also makes disseminating his photos challenging. “It is very difficult to upload them and transfer them because there are no good communications and no safe places,” said Faiz. 

Despite his resilience, it is clear that Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has taken a toll on him. “I can only deal emotionally with these atrocities as my human and moral duty,” he said. “My biggest fear is that the world will continue to remain silent about all these crimes and leave us alone to face our fate.” Recently, Faiz lost his longtime friend and colleague, Al-Jazeera journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul, who was killed in a targeted IDF strike along with his cameraman, Rami Al Refee, while reporting on the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. “Ismail (Al-Ghoul)’s departure pained us, but it would have pained us more if press rights organisations remained silent about this crime,” said Faiz. Al-Ghoul and Al Refee’s assassination attracted widespread international attention when the IDF celebrated their killing on X, claiming that the journalists were Hamas militants. The press rights organisation Reporters Without Borders has since filed complaints with the International Criminal Court over the killings.“Israel kills us journalists because it wants to silence (us), obscure the real picture and hide its criminal reality from the world,” said Faiz. He hopes the international press appreciates the risks he and other Palestinian journalists are taking to show the world the truth about the genocide in Gaza. “I ask my colleagues anywhere in the world to recognise that we, here in Gaza, are under a suffocating siege,” he said.“There is no support for us on the ground, but we are working very hard despite the risk of being killed at any moment.”

Article by Georgia Howell

Photography by Momin Faiz