After seeing the faces of our colleagues from Gaza appear before us, both in voice and image.
On September 16, we gathered in an exceptional meeting that brought together colleagues from the West Bank, the ’48 territories, and Gaza, alongside a number of foreign journalists. We spoke about the challenges of journalistic work under bombardment, the gaps in international media coverage, and the responsibility of institutions concerned with freedom of expression and human rights to support Palestinian journalists.
“But the most important part of this meeting was something that words cannot fully capture: the faces of our colleagues in Gaza.”
We see them every day through messages and calls, but this time they were with us, live in voice and image. Their tired eyes appeared on the screen, and their voices carried more than they could say. For two hours, we listened to just a fraction of their daily reality — their sense of helplessness, the terror of each moment, and the details of survival.
They spoke to us from damaged rooms, bombed homes, or from inside hospitals. We saw where they work and how they insist on continuing despite loss, despite power outages, and despite the dangers surrounding every word.
We told them that we are hurting with them, and that they are not alone.
Thanks from the heart to our colleague Mohammed Abu Namous, who refused to leave Gaza and insists on staying.
Thanks to Ahmad Al-Madhoun, Saber Nour Al-Din, and Abdel Hakim Abu Riyash, who spoke to us from a room surrounded by destruction, after sending their families south while they remained in Gaza.
Thanks to Salma Al-Qudumi, Mohammed Abu Shaar, and everyone we met face to face inside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Thanks to dear Taghreed Al-Amour, who has been trying for two years to embrace her children, and was devastated when the genocide began while she was outside Gaza.
And thanks to colleague Nidal Rafea, and all the colleagues from the West Bank who attended and emphasized that such meetings are a necessity, not a luxury.
Thanks also to our foreign journalist colleagues who joined us.
We needed you to hear our disappointments and our anger.