Fatima Hassona, a Palestinian photojournalist who stars in a documentary selected to be screened in Cannes next month, would have been killed in an Israeli air strike on his home in northern Gaza.
A graduate of the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza, Fatima was not only a photographer, she was a visual witness of a reality which becomes more severe day by day. A few hours before she was killed, she posted a photo of the sunset from her balcony, writing: “It's the first sunset for a long time.”
In a previous article, she wrote: “As for inevitable death, if I die, I want a strong death, I do not want myself in a new one, nor in a certain number with a group, I want a death that is heard by the world, a trace that lasts eternally, and immortal images that neither time nor the place can bury.”
An unfinished film dream
The day before his death, the association of Independent Cinema for Distribution (ACID) announced that the documentary Put your soul on your hand and walkBy the Iranian filmmaker exiled septusi, had been selected for next month Cannes Film Festival
Fatma is the central character of the film, and his selection could have been an important step in his career and an opportunity to share his vision with the world.
In an interview with the French daily Le Monde, the Iranian filmmaker described Fatima with moving words, saying that it “was a sun”. She added: “She covered war in Gaza, sometimes collaborating with the media by sending photos and videos.” Every day, she sent me photos, written messages and audio clips. Every morning, I wake up and wondered if she was still alive. “”
Gaza journalists in danger
Since the start of the Israeli war against Gaza, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) estimates that at least 157 journalists and media workers have been killed, other reports suggesting that the actual number can exceed 200.
IFJ cried Fatima and condemned the future Type of journalistsemphasizing the need to end the impunity of Israel. “This massacre must stop,” he said, calling for an immediate and independent investigation into the murder of journalists.
“Journalists in conflict areas must be treated as civilians and authorized to do their work without interference,” said IFJ Secretary General Anthony Belanger. “There is a general world interest in what is happening in Gaza, but we can only see the truth if journalists are allowed to access it.
Doctors Without Borders Said in a press release: “Gaza has become a mass grave for the Palestinians and those who help them.” The organization's emergency coordinator, Amand Pazerol, added: “We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire population of Gazan.”
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 testifies to a reality that she never stopped documenting before the last moment.
