Posthumous diary of Fatima Hassouna, photojournalist from Gaza: “If they kill me, don't bury my photos.”
10 photos
“I look forward to living my life after the war, and I am certain that beautiful things will come,” he said then.
The photographs in this diary allow us to enter her world and share her daily thoughts, emotions, fears, and frustrations in the face of the destruction unfolding before her eyes.
Hassouna gave permission to the NGO Plan International, with which she collaborated, to publish these images and her comments. Following her death, and with the approval of her surviving family, the NGO has shared part of this photographic work with EL PAÍS.
Her husband, Motaz, said in a text sent by Plan International that Hassouna had told him before she died: "If they kill me, don't bury my photos. Let them scream for me, let them tell my story, let them expose everything I have seen and everything I have not been able to save." https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/U3R5S3G6XZFFFBSPDAIT5T4YPE.jpeg?auth=81ca78ec3e7987005896187a3df593c8b5934f8106d473c63011a5534313aff0&width=828 640w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/U3R5S3G6XZFFFBSPDAIT5T4YPE.jpeg?auth=81ca78ec3e7987005896187a3df593c8b5934f8106d473c63011a5534313aff0&width=980 1000w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/U3R5S3G6XZFFFBSPDAIT5T4YPE.jpeg?auth=81ca78ec3e7987005896187a3df593c8b5934f8106d473c63011a5534313aff0&width=1960 1960w" width="414" sizes="(min-width:1199px) 1155px,(min-width:1001px) calc(100vw - 44px),(min-width:768px) 767px, 100vw" src="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/U3R5S3G6XZFFFBSPDAIT5T4YPE.jpeg?au th=81ca78ec3e7987005896187a3df593c8b5934f8106d473c63011a5534313aff0&width=414">This smiling girl is Fatima Hassouna, a Palestinian from Gaza, a youth rights activist, and a photojournalist who captured the bombings, the devastation, and the daily life she was trying to make her way amidst the humanitarian tragedy. On April 16, an Israeli bomb killed her along with 10 other members of her family in Gaza. She was 25 years old. Just the day before, she had learned that the documentary "Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk," which Iranian director Sepideh Farsi had managed to create thanks to the video calls they had had, had been selected for the Cannes Film Festival, which took place weeks later. For 18 months, Hassouna documented what she saw around her, and her work was published in various media outlets. She wanted the world to know and act to move toward peace. In January 2025, she celebrated the ceasefire and allowed herself to dream of a better future:
“I look forward to living my life after the war, and I am certain that beautiful things will come,” he said then.
The photographs in this diary allow us to enter her world and share her daily thoughts, emotions, fears, and frustrations in the face of the destruction unfolding before her eyes.
Hassouna gave permission to the NGO Plan International, with which she collaborated, to publish these images and her comments. Following her death, and with the approval of her surviving family, the NGO has shared part of this photographic work with EL PAÍS.
Her husband, Motaz, said in a text sent by Plan International that Hassouna had told him before she died: "If they kill me, don't bury my photos. Let them shout for me, let them tell my story, let them expose everything I've seen and everything I couldn't save."Plan InternationalA city of ghosts: "This is my city, Gaza, and this is what it looked like on May 5, 2024: streets covered in sand, houses demolished, infrastructure gone... All the places we loved have become a vast emptiness in the streets and Gaza has been transformed into a
City of ghosts. This is Al-Mukhabarat Street. It used to be one of the liveliest avenues, leading to the sea and passing, for example, the Al-Mathaf Hotel and other places people enjoyed visiting. But today I can only see the scars of destruction, and I struggled to recognize it when I arrived. "Everything we held dear has been taken from us!"Fatima Hassouna (Plan International) return to what they were."
According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which the UN uses as a reference, since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed at least 58,000 Palestinians, of whom 17,000 were children. Several thousand, if they survive, carry physical and psychological consequences of their injuries for life. https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/AWZWDP5SJNF3NCJ7LGM66YE27A.jpg?auth=5300f81158bd91411b998c2cb2675d0aebc8aafdd981bdbb9762ab4e17c0b829&width=828 640w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/AWZWDP5SJNF3NCJ7LGM66YE27A.jpg?auth=5300f81158bd91411b998c2cb2675d0aebc8aafdd981bdbb9762ab4e17c0b829&width=980 1000w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/AWZWDP5SJNF3NCJ7LGM66YE27A.jpg?auth=5300f81158bd91411b998c2cb2675d0aebc8aafdd981bdbb9762ab4e17c0b829&width=1960 1960w" width="414" sizes="(min-width:1199px) 1155px,(min-width:1001px) calc(100vw - 44px),(min-width:768px) 767px, 100vw" src="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/AWZWDP5SJNF3NCJ7LGM66YE27A.jpg?auth=5300f81158bd91411b998c2cb2675d0aebc8aafdd981bdbb9762ab4e17c0b829&width=414">A suffering generation: "There is nothing sadder in Gaza than looking at the children. Many carry far more weight than is appropriate for their age. Instead of being in schools or parks, they live in their schools and face the war with a small, empty plate of food in their hands and bare feet, like the girl in the picture. I'm not always happy taking these photos. On the contrary, these scenes sadden me deeply and tear at my heart. The littlest ones in this city cannot bear such exhaustion. But my only consolation is the hope that this generation will one day rise up against injustice and that the schools and parks
return to what they were."
According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which the UN uses as a reference, since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed at least 58,000 Palestinians, 17,000 of whom were children. Several thousand, if they survive, carry lifelong physical and psychological scars from their injuries.Fatima Hassouna (Plan International) childhood as it should be." srcset="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/ZM6ZVDOWJREJNPHG5NS27FLMNQ.jpg?auth=8c8ff0e41694ca53d607061961705cb88bc604d746a5d3dfe4aad85078251f62&width=414 414w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/ZM6ZVDOWJREJNPHG5NS27FLMNQ.jpg?auth=8c8ff0e41694ca53d607061961705cb88bc604d746a5d3dfe4aad85078251f62&width=828 640w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/ZM6ZVDOWJREJNPHG5NS27FLMNQ.jpg?auth=8c8ff0e41694ca53d607061961705cb88bc604d746a5d3dfe4aad85078251f62&width=980 1000w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/ZM6ZVDOWJREJNPHG5NS27FLMNQ.jpg?auth=8c8ff0e41694ca53d607061961705cb88bc604d746a5d3dfe4aad85078251f62&width=1960 1960w" width="414" sizes="(min-width:1199px) 1155px,(min-width:1001px) calc(100vw - 44px),(min-width:768px) 767px, 100vw" src="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/ZM6ZVDOWJREJNPHG5NS27FLMNQ.jpg?auth=8c8ff0e41694ca53d607061961705cb88bc604d746a5d3dfe4aad85078251f62&width=414">Pink on a grey background: "Gaza, my Gaza, is one of the most contradictory places in the world. In the midst of so much destruction, you can find this stall full of colorful toys that contrast radically with the dull tones of devastation and death. For me, it is a clear sign of defiance in the face of oppression, that there is still hope for a better future. The image conveys that there is life in the streets, even though they have recently been bombed, and that people are resilient because, despite the daily risk of dying, they go out to live. I took this photo in June 2024 because, even if they kill all the children, others will be born, they will carry these toys in their hands and one day they will live their
childhood as it should be."Fatima Hassouna (Plan International) Now it has become a camp for displaced people, for families who fled their homes because they were destroyed or for fear of being targeted. Women who have lost everything sit on these steps. Some have lost their husbands, their sons and daughters. Each one carries her own heavy story. These Palestinian women literally live on the steps, in tiny spaces where entire families must sleep. From time to time, they sit and look at the horizon, like in this photograph taken in November 2024. I imagine they see immense mountains of worries before them.
" srcset="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/MZXIULRAHJA6JEJKFQMDQ6DZJA.jpg?auth=0dc99373ca65ce700d195788a15fb8903b7dc8001b3b9a0184bef5081cf0c071&width=414 414w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/MZXIULRAHJA6JEJKFQMDQ6DZJA.jpg?auth=0dc99373ca65ce700d195788a15fb8903b7dc8001b3b9a0184bef5081cf0c071&width=828 640w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/MZXIULRAHJA6JEJKFQMDQ6DZJA.jpg?auth=0dc99373ca65ce700d195788a15fb8903b7dc8001b3b9a0184bef5081cf0c071&width=980 1000w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/MZXIULRAHJA6JEJKFQMDQ6DZJA.jpg?auth=0dc99373ca65ce700d195788a15fb8903b7dc8001b3b9a0184bef5081cf0c071&width=1960 1960w" width="414" sizes="(min-width:1199px) 1155px,(min-width:1001px) calc(100vw - 44px),(min-width:768px) 767px, 100vw" src="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/MZXIULRAHJA6JEJKFQMDQ6DZJA.jpg?auth=0dc99373ca65ce700d195788a15fb8903b7dc8001b3b9a0184bef5081cf0c071&width=414">Football was played here: "This is Yarmouk Stadium, in Gaza City. Once upon a time, it was filled with cheers from the crowd who came to watch matches.
Now it has become a camp for displaced people, for families who fled their homes because they were destroyed or for fear of being targeted. Women who have lost everything sit on these steps. Some have lost their husbands, their sons and daughters. Each one carries her own heavy story. These Palestinian women literally live on the steps, in tiny spaces where entire families must sleep. From time to time, they sit and look at the horizon, like in this photograph taken in November 2024. I imagine they see immense mountains of worries before them.
Fatima Hassouna (Plan International) In it you can see the main hall, where poetry readings, plays, and parties were held. Sometimes it was converted into a cinema, since there is no cinema in Gaza.
movie theaters. It was a place revered by those of us who love art.
When I first walked in after the bombing, I felt like crying. They took something from me that they had no right to take away. But I know, deep down, they can't take it away from me, because this place is part of me.
of my identity, a firm identity, no matter how much circumstances change." srcset="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/JXWYTHDH7RDPLP2UHFPQDFH3Z4.jpg?auth=9df9dcb7c1214d2679e22abd2a0f58adbe318875a9212363be893f9cbe55a6c7&width=414 414w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/JXWYTHDH7RDPLP2UHFPQDFH3Z4.jpg?auth=9df9dcb7c1214d2679e22abd2a0f58adbe318875a9212363be893f9cbe55a6c7&width=828 640w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/JXWYTHDH7RDPLP2UHFPQDFH3Z4.jpg?auth=9df9dcb7c1214d2679e22abd2a0f58adbe318875a9212363be893f9cbe55a6c7&width=980 1000w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/JXWYTHDH7RDPLP2UHFPQDFH3Z4.jpg?auth=9df9dcb7c1214d2679e22abd2a0f58adbe318875a9212363be893f9cbe55a6c7&width=1960 1960w" width="414" sizes="(min-width:1199px) 1155px,(min-width:1001px) calc(100vw - 44px),(min-width:768px) 767px, 100vw" src="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/JXWYTHDH7RDPLP2UHFPQDFH3Z4.jpg?auth=9df9dcb7c1214d2679e22abd2a0f58adbe318875a9212363be893f9cbe55a6c7&width=414">My stolen sanctuary: "This place is the Rashad Al-Shawa Cultural Center, one of the most important in Gaza and a site that is deeply etched in my memory. The image on the left is from November 2024, and the one on the right is from before it was bombed.
In it you can see the main hall, where poetry readings, plays, and parties were held. Sometimes it was converted into a cinema, since there is no cinema in Gaza.
movie theaters. It was a place revered by those of us who love art.
When I first walked in after the bombing, I felt like crying. They took something from me that they had no right to take away. But I know, deep down, they can't take it away from me, because this place is part of me.
of my identity, a firm identity, no matter how much circumstances change."Fatima Hassouna (Plan International) work. He used to sit in the attic of his house—which appears destroyed in this photo—and
He drew beautiful images, which were his voice and the voice of the Palestinian people to the world.
The place where this image was taken, in April 2024, no longer exists. The house is gone, the attic
disappeared, Mahasen and her projects too. But her wish came true: her art lives on and many people around the world know today that she died pursuing her
dream"." srcset="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/OXVQOFDWXZC4LLTKQAVQKO6HYQ.JPG? auth=c12335a91620bc52c0cfb8a825d5e4ad2643dfc2b4238cb6583816b35561b5a9&width=414 414w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/OXVQOFDWXZC4LLTKQAVQKO6HYQ.JPG?auth=c12335a91620bc52c0cfb8a825d5e4ad2643dfc2b4238cb6583816b35561b5a9&width=828 640w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/OXVQOFDWXZC4LLTKQAVQKO6HYQ.JPG?auth=c12335a91620bc52c0cfb8a825d5e4ad2643dfc2b4238cb6583816b35561b5a9&width=980 1000w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/OXVQOFDWXZC4LLTKQAVQKO6HYQ.JPG?auth=c12335a91620bc52c0cfb8a825d5e4ad2643dfc2b4238cb6583816b35561b5a9&width=1960 1960w" width="414" sizes="(min-width:1199px) 1155px,(min-width:1001px) calc(100vw - 44px),(min-width:768px) 767px, 100vw" src="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/OXVQOFDWXZC4LLTKQAVQKO6HYQ.JPG?aut h=c12335a91620bc52c0cfb8a825d5e4ad2643dfc2b4238cb6583816b35561b5a9&width=414">Unforgettable: “This is the artist Mahasen Al-Khatib, my friend. She died in the Israeli bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza in October 2024. Mahasen was an example to me and to many. She didn’t let the war stop her work.”
work. He used to sit in the attic of his house—which appears destroyed in this photo—and
He drew beautiful images, which were his voice and the voice of the Palestinian people to the world.
The place where this image was taken, in April 2024, no longer exists. The house is gone, the attic
disappeared, Mahasen and her projects too. But her wish came true: her art lives on and many people around the world know today that she died pursuing her
dream."Fatima Hassouna (Plan International) the one you arrived at." Image taken with Gaza City in the background in October 2024. srcset="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/FV2HSZAABFD7RJ23SB6BS7E5OQ.JPG?auth=6f9fa9201008ec09e56beefee1163d90f1dbccd0398c661e0cda4a87acb86041&width=414 414w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/FV2HSZAABFD7RJ23SB6BS7E5OQ.JPG?auth=6f9fa9201008ec09e56beefee1163d90f1dbccd0398c661e0cda4a87acb86041&width=828 640w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/FV2HSZAABFD7RJ23SB6BS7E5OQ.JPG?auth=6f9fa9201008ec09e56beefee1163d90f1dbccd0398c661e0cda4a87acb86041&width=980 1000w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/FV2HSZAABFD7RJ23SB6BS7E5OQ.JPG?auth=6f9fa9201008ec09e56beefee1163d90f1dbccd0398c661e0cda4a87acb86041&width=1960 1960w" width="414" sizes="(min-width:1199px) 1155px,(min-width:1001px) calc(100vw - 44px),(min-width:768px) 767px, 100vw" src="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/FV2HSZAABFD7RJ23SB6BS7E5OQ.JPG?auth=6f9fa9201008ec09e56beefee1163d90f1dbccd0398c661e0cda4a87acb86041&width=414">The power of the sea: "The more I try to explain the relationship we Gazans have with the sea, the less sense my words seem to make. The sea has been our only escape our entire lives. Even though they tried to keep us away from it, they couldn't. Nothing can come between us and the Mediterranean. Here, when someone needs to take a breath, they go to the sea. Just seeing its immensity is enough to feel that you can breathe again, that you can move forward with a little more peace than with
The one you arrived at." Image taken with Gaza City in the background in October 2024.Fatima Hassouna (Plan International) Israel ended the ceasefire in mid-March. Since then, the siege of Gaza has intensified, and bombing has continued unabated. Since the end of the truce, Israeli attacks have killed more than 7,000 people, according to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/YDGUIJMW5BD3RP2Z3LBMDV64KQ.jpg?auth=f28c66c69a3e7c3a1b7cb78391e561d10c4d4f129bdd815701b90961b5ea59f3&width=828 640w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/YDGUIJMW5BD3RP2Z3LBMDV64KQ.jpg?auth=f28c66c69a3e7c3a1b7cb78391e561d10c4d4f129bdd815701b90961b5ea59f3&width=980 1000w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/YDGUIJMW5BD3RP2Z3LBMDV64KQ.jpg?auth=f28c66c69a3e7c3a1b7cb78391e561d10c4d4f129bdd815701b90961b5ea59f3&width=1960 1960w" width="414" sizes="(min-width:1199px) 1155px,(min-width:1001px) calc(100vw - 44px),(min-width:768px) 767px, 100vw" src="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/YDGUIJMW5BD3RP2Z3LBMDV64KQ.jpg?aut h=f28c66c69a3e7c3a1b7cb78391e561d10c4d4f129bdd815701b90961b5ea59f3&width=414">Return: "There is nothing more beautiful than returning home, despite the hardships of the road, the difficulty of getting there, and the long wait. It is always worth it. The moment you breathe the air of your land and your home is more precious than any other. This overwhelming scene will remain etched in my memory until the day I die and will be a memory for an entire generation after me, who will be able to enjoy the meaning of returning home, the word 'home,' and the pleasure of arriving after a long and arduous wait." The image was taken in January 2025, after the declaration of a truce, when thousands of displaced Gazans in the southern Gaza Strip returned to their homes or what remained of them in areas further north.
Israel ended the ceasefire in mid-March. Since then, the siege of Gaza has intensified, and the bombing has continued unabated. Since the truce ended, Israeli attacks have killed more than 7,000 people, according to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.Fatima Hassouna (Plan International) I can't imagine what they were saying to each other, or perhaps just being silent was enough to say it all. Because sometimes there are no words to express the sadness you feel for what you're witnessing. Perhaps one of them had lost their home or someone they loved. Perhaps they were calculating when the plane with aid would arrive, counting the hours. On that particular day, the plane never arrived, and they all returned empty-handed.
According to the UN, Gaza's two million inhabitants are starving, and of these, more than half a million will be in a catastrophic situation by September if nothing changes. Before this war began, 500 trucks of humanitarian aid entered the Strip every day. Today, assistance arrives in dribs and drabs, and the Strip lacks even the most essential items for the survival of its two million inhabitants, starting with flour, medicine, and powdered milk. Since May, several food distribution centers have been set up, orchestrated by an opaque foundation supported by the United States and Israel, but operating outside the UN, where more than 600 starving Gazans have been shot dead by the Israeli army, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office. " srcset="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/QR4CETIH3RFO7K663P7XWOYBFM.jpg?auth=ddbfaa4c82cf769fc8a609ff7f0844912413cd24c5aeb42a9e4856a0e7b2a241&width=414 414w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/QR4CETIH3RFO7K663P7XWOYBFM.jpg?auth=ddbfaa4c82cf769fc8a609ff7f0844912413cd24c5aeb42a9e4856a0e7b2a241&width=828 640w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/QR4CETIH3RFO7K663P7XWOYBFM.jpg?auth=ddbfaa4c82cf769fc8a609ff7f0844912413cd24c5aeb42a9e4856a0e7b2a241&width=980 1000w, https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/QR4CETIH3RFO7K663P7XWOYBFM.jpg?auth=ddbfaa4c82cf769fc8a609ff7f0844912413cd24c5aeb42a9e4856a0e7b2a241&width=1960 1960w" width="414" sizes="(min-width:1199px) 1155px,(min-width:1001px) calc(100vw - 44px),(min-width:768px) 767px, 100vw" src="https://imagenes.elpais.com/resizer/v2/QR4CETIH3RFO7K663P7XWOYBFM.jpg?auth=ddbfaa4c82cf769fc8a609ff7f0844912413cd24c5aeb42a9e4856a0e7b2a241&width=414">The Long Wait: "I took this photograph in May 2024 in the Al-Sudaniya beach area, a place where planes used to arrive to airdrop humanitarian aid. These two men were sitting on a large dune, waiting for a plane to arrive. They had been there for a long time, since six in the morning, along with many other people who were also waiting.
I can't imagine what they were saying to each other, or perhaps just being silent was enough to say it all. Because sometimes there are no words to express the sadness you feel for what you're witnessing. Perhaps one of them had lost their home or someone they loved. Perhaps they were calculating when the plane with aid would arrive, counting the hours. On that particular day, the plane never arrived, and they all returned empty-handed.
According to the UN, Gaza's two million inhabitants are starving, and of these, more than half a million will be in a catastrophic situation by September if nothing changes. Before this war began, 500 trucks of humanitarian aid entered the Strip every day. Today, assistance arrives in dribs and drabs, and the Strip lacks even the most essential items for the survival of its two million inhabitants, starting with flour, medicine, and powdered milk. Since May, several food distribution centers have been set up, orchestrated by an opaque foundation supported by the United States and Israel, but operating outside the UN, where more than 600 starving Gazans have been shot dead by the Israeli army, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office.Fatima Hassouna (Plan International)
