Fatima Hassouna, a war documentarian who had covered the conflict in Gaza on the ground for 18 months, 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, who is the subject of a new documentary to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival next month.
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.
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.
She was featured in Sepideh Farsi’s documentary film, Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk, which has been selected to be screened in the ACID section at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in May 2025. A director’s statement describes the film as “a window, opened through a miraculous encounter with Fatima” into the “ongoing massacre of the Palestinians.”
Following the news of Hassouna’s death, the Iranian film director on Friday shared a photo on social media featuring herself on camera with Hassouna, who was smiling. “My last image of her is a smile. I cling to it today,” Farsi wrote alongside the picture.
Farsi said the last time she contacted Hassouna was one day before her death to give her “the happy news” about the documentary. “We both discussed her traveling to France in May to present the documentary in Cannes with me, since she is the main protagonist,” Farsi said.
“I thought it was a mistake when I heard about her death,” Farsi added. “I hope this documentary will shed light on her life in Gaza and serve as a tribute to her memory.”
According to the PJPC, the number of journalists who have died in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has risen to 212, an unprecedented toll according to numerous journalist groups. The organization called on the international community to open an immediate investigation into the incident and hold those responsible to account.
Hassouna’s neighbor, Um Aed Ajur, described Hassouna as proud of the work she was doing. She questioned the strike on her house, saying she and her family “have no connection” to any group. “We have been neighbors for 35 years and have never heard that they are connected to any (group),” she added.
Hassouna’s final post on her Facebook page was a series of photos of Gaza fishermen by the sea last Saturday, less than a week before she was killed. She posted the pictures with a short poem.
“From here you get to know the city. You enter it, but you don’t leave, because you won’t leave, and you can’t,” she wrote.