Photojournalist Fatima Hassona killed in Gaza day after documentary selected for Cannes
ADVERTISEMENT
Fatima Hassona, a Palestinian photojournalist who's stars in a documentary selected to be screened at Cannes next month, has reportedly been killed in an Israeli air strike on her home in northern Gaza.
A graduate of the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza, Fatima was not just a photographer, she was a visual witness to a reality that is getting harsher by the day. Hours before she was killed, she posted a photo of the sunset from her balcony, writing: "This is the first sunset in a long time."
In an earlier post, she wrote: "As for the inevitable death, if I die, I want a loud death, I don't want me in a breaking news story, nor in a number with a group, I want a death that is heard by the world, a trace that lasts forever, and immortal images that neither time nor place can bury."
An unfinished film dream
The day before she was killed, the Association of Independent Cinema for Distribution (ACID) announced that the documentary
Put your soul on your hand and walk
, by exiled Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi, had been selected for next month's
Cannes Film Festival
Fatma is the central character in the film, and its selection could have been a milestone in her career and an opportunity to share her vision with the world.
In an interview with French daily Le Monde, the Iranian filmmaker described Fatima in moving words, saying that she "was a sun". She added: "She was covering the war in Gaza, occasionally collaborating with media outlets by sending photos and videos. "Every day she would send me photos, written messages and audio clips. Every morning, I would wake up and wonder if she was still alive."
Gaza journalists at risk
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) estimates that at least 157 journalists and media workers have been killed, with other reports suggesting that the real number may exceed 200.
The IFJ mourned Fatima and condemned the continued
targeting of reporters
, emphasising the need to end Israel's impunity. "This massacre must stop," it said, calling for an immediate and independent investigation into the killing of journalists.
"Journalists in conflict zones should be treated as civilians and allowed to carry out their work without interference," said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Belanger. "There is widespread global interest in what is happening in Gaza, but we can only see the truth if journalists are allowed access to it.
Doctors Without Borders
said in a statement: "Gaza has become a mass grave for Palestinians and those who help them." The organisation's emergency coordinator, Amand Pazerol, added: "We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire Gazan population."
Fatima Hassona was not only a journalist, but a humanitarian voice and an unforgettable image in the history of a city that dies and is reborn every day. Her work bears witness to a reality that she did not stop documenting until the last moment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
6 hours ago
- LeMonde
'The silence on Gaza dramatically exposes a blind spot in our cultures of remembrance'
Once considered "world champions of mass crimes," Germans could, until October 7, 2023, pride themselves – as Holocaust historian Götz Aly put it – on being "world champions of commemoration." But as the war on Gaza continues, have they now become champions of willful blindness? Although Germany's culture of remembrance has remained – following Theodor W. Adorno's 1966 essay Education After Auschwitz – of shaping enlightened citizens as guardians of democracy and the principle of "never again," this commitment has been tested in the face of current events. It took several months for Chancellor Friedrich Merz to "discover reality" and make unexpectedly clear statements on Gaza, according to Der Tagesspiegel on May 27. However, these remarks have so far remained purely rhetorical, with no accompanying action. This disconnect between the idealized model of remembrance and current reality is not limited to Germany. In France, where the "duty of memory" has been a political and educational mantra since the 1980s, President Emmanuel Macron – himself shaped by Paul Ricœur (1913-2005) and his pursuit of a "just memory" – finally dared to criticize the "shameful" acts of Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government. Yet euphemisms still prevail, with crimes whose genocidal nature grow more evident each day being referred to merely as a "tragedy," and the task of determining their legal qualification as genocide postponed to historians "in due time," despite the wealth of documentation – even under Israeli blockade. Several Israeli Holocaust historians, such as Omer Bartov, Amos Goldberg, and Daniel Blatman, have already described the situation of Palestinians in Gaza as genocide. In the face of glaringly inadequate European reactions – with notable exceptions in Spain, Ireland, Norway, and Slovenia – we, as historians, question what memory policies can and cannot do, and what they have produced: a certain conformism, a tendency toward blindness and self-censorship, and political manipulation both domestically and internationally.
LeMonde
6 hours ago
- LeMonde
Israel threatens more strikes on Lebanon unless Hezbollah is disarmed
Israel warned Friday, June 6 that it would keep striking Lebanon until militant group Hezbollah has been disarmed, after hitting south Beirut in what Lebanese leaders called a major violation of a November ceasefire. Thursday's attacks on what the Israeli military said were underground Hezbollah drone factories came after an Israeli evacuation call on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a key Muslim religious festival, and sent huge numbers of residents of Beirut's southern suburbs fleeing. It was the fourth and heaviest Israeli bombardment of the heavily populated area, known as a bastion of support for Hezbollah, in the six months since a ceasefire deal aimed at ending hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. The last attack was in late April. "There will be no calm in Beirut, and no order or stability in Lebanon, without security for the State of Israel," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. "Agreements must be honored and if you do not do what is required, we will continue to act, and with great force." The state-run National News Agency reported around a dozen strikes, while Health Minister Rakan Nassereldine said several people were wounded by flying glass. AFP photographers on Friday saw huge destruction as residents, some wearing masks, inspected the debris and damage to their homes. 'Blatant act' A Hezbollah statement said a preliminary assessment showed nine buildings were completely destroyed and dozens of others damaged. A woman in her 40s who lives near one of the strike sites said she fled on foot with her young children including a three-month-old baby. "Thank God" the building was not destroyed, she told AFP after returning Friday morning to find the windows of her flat shattered. South Beirut resident Fatima, 40, said "life goes on," adding that she and her two children were following the usual Eid traditions after fleeing the previous night. Hezbollah sparked months of deadly hostilities by launching cross-border attacks on northern Israel in stated solidarity with Palestinian ally Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack. France, part of a committee overseeing the ceasefire, condemned the strikes and urged all parties to respect the truce, noting that the monitoring mechanism "is there to help the parties deal with threats and prevent any escalation." Lebanese President Joseph Aoun late on Thursday voiced "firm condemnation of the Israeli aggression" and "flagrant violation of an international accord... on the eve of a sacred religious festival." Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the strikes as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty. Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar on Friday urged "all Lebanese political forces... to translate their statements of condemnation into concrete action," including diplomatic pressure. Hezbollah backer Iran called the strikes "a blatant act of aggression against Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said. The war left Hezbollah massively weakened, with top commanders including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah killed and weapons caches incinerated. 'Refusal to cooperate' Under the ceasefire, Lebanon should disarm Hezbollah, once reputed to be more heavily armed than the state. A Lebanese military official told AFP the committee received no warning before the Israeli evacuation order. The Lebanese army "attempted to go to one of the sites... but Israeli warning shots prevented it from carrying out its mission," the official said, requesting anonymity. Lebanon's army, which has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure under the truce, said the Israeli military's ongoing violations and "refusal to cooperate" with the ceasefire monitoring mechanism "could prompt the (Lebanese) military to freeze cooperation" on site inspections. The French foreign ministry statement noted that "dismantling unauthorised military sites... falls as a priority to the Lebanese" army with the support of United Nations peacekeepers. The Israeli military had said Hezbollah was "operating to increase production of UAVs (drones) for the next war" in "blatant violation" of the truce understandings. Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah fighters were to withdraw north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border. Israel was to withdraw troops from Lebanon but has kept them in five areas it deems "strategic" and still launches regular strikes on south Lebanon. Israel's military also issued an evacuation warning for the southern village of Ain Qana. It then struck a building there that it alleged was a Hezbollah base, according to the NNA.
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
Israel army announces 4 soldiers killed in Gaza, thousands more troops needed
News of the soldiers' deaths came as Gaza's civil defence agency reported 38 killed Friday in Israeli attacks across the territory, where Palestinians observed the Eid al-Adha holiday under the shadow of war for a second consecutive year. Military spokesman Effie Defrin said the four soldiers were killed as they "were operating in the Khan Yunis area, in a compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation". "Around six in the morning, an explosive device detonated, causing part of the structure to collapse," he said, adding that five other soldiers were wounded, one of them severely. The deaths bring to 429 the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since the start of the ground offensive in late October 2023. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended his condolences to the soldiers' families, saying they "sacrificed their lives for the safety of all of us". Israel recently stepped up its Gaza campaign in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack sparked the war. Conscription row Asked by a reporter about the issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, which has emerged as a thorn in the side of Netanyahu's government, Defrin said "this is the need of the moment, an operational necessity". The army was short around 10,000 soldiers, he added, including about 6,000 in combat roles, adding that "tens of thousands more notices will be issued in the upcoming draft cycle". The conscription issue has threatened to sink Netanyahu's government, with ultra-Orthodox religious parties warning they will pull out of his coalition if Netanyahu fails to make good on a promise to codify the military exemption for their community in law. At the same time, much of the public has turned against the exemption amid the increasing strain put on reservists' families by repeated call-up orders during the war. In April, a military representative told a parliamentary committee that of 18,000 draft notices sent to ultra-Orthodox individuals, only 232 received a positive response. Netanyahu's office announced shortly after 1:00 am on Friday that he had met with a lawmaker from his Likud party who has recently pushed for a bill aimed at increasing the ultra-Orthodox enlistment and toughening sanctions on those who refuse. The premier's office said "significant progress was made", with "unresolved issues" to be ironed out later. Netanyahu also faced scrutiny after he admitted to supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes Hamas. Knesset member and ex-defence minister Avigdor Liberman had told the Kan public broadcaster that the government, at Netanyahu's direction, was "giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons". The European Council on Foreign Relations think tank describes the group a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks". 'He wears a white shroud' The humanitarian situation in Gaza, meanwhile, has reached dire lows, with residents enduring severe shortages of food and other essentials, even after a more than two-month Israeli blockade on aid was recently eased. The shortages have made it all but impossible for many Gazans to celebrate Eid al-Adha, which fell on Friday and is traditionally marked with huge family meals and gifts of new clothes. Suad al-Qarra told AFP from Nasser Hospital on Friday that her son never got a chance to wear his new clothes. "He went to get dressed and there was an explosion," she said, her soft voice breaking. "I took him to the hospital and (they) found him dead." "They took the children from us," she continued. "I bought him Eid clothes yesterday and he didn't wear them, instead he wears a white shroud." In the Muslim faith, Eid commemorates the sacrifice Ibrahim -- known to Christians and Jews as Abraham -- was about to make by killing his son, before the angel Gabriel intervened and offered him a sheep to sacrifice instead. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday's strikes. Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 4,402 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18 after a brief truce, taking the war's overall toll to 54,677, mostly civilians.
