Gaza journalist featured in new Cannes documentary killed in Israeli airstrike

Hassouna posted her photos on Facebook and Instagram, where she had more than 35,000 followers. Her images documented the challenges of everyday life in Gaza and the threat of living under Israeli bombardment.

Fatima Hassouna, a war documentarian who had covered the conflict in Gaza on the ground for 18 months and the subject of a new documentary to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival next month, was killed along with seven members of her family in an Israeli strike this week. “If I die, I want a resounding death, I do not want me in urgent news, nor in a number with a group,” Hassouna wrote in a post on Instagram in August 2024. “I want a death that the world hears, an effect that remains for the extent of the ages, and immortal images that neither time nor space buries,” added the photojournalist. The health ministry in Gaza told CNN on Friday that Hassouna’s parents survived the strike on Wednesday, but both suffered critical injuries and are in an intensive care unit. The Palestinian Journalists’ Protection Center (PJPC) said it mourns the loss of Hassouna. It said that the strike that killed her targeted her family’s home on Al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City and also killed several of her family members. It described the attack as a “crime” against journalists and a violation of international law. “Fatima’s powerful photos documenting life under siege were published globally, shedding light on the human toll of the war,” the center said. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday that the target was “a terrorist in Hamas’ Gaza City Brigade” and that steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. “The terrorist planned and executed terror attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” the IDF said in a statement without providing further details.