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Fatima Hassouna

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Fatima Hassouna
فاطمة حسّونة
Hassouna smiling and holding a camera
Born1999 (1999)
Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Died16 April 2025(2025-04-16) (aged 25–26)
Al-Touffah, Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Cause of deathIsraeli airstrike
Other namesFatma Hassona
Occupation(s)Photojournalist, artist
Years active2023–2025
Known forDocumenting Gaza War impacts, Cannes-selected documentary subject

Fatima Hassouna (/həˈsuːnə/ hə-SOO-nə; 1999 – 16 April 2025), sometimes spelled Fatma Hassona, was a Palestinian photojournalist whose work documented civilian life during the Gaza war. She gained international recognition for her visceral documentation of war impacts and became the subject of the documentary film Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, selected for the ACID film programme shown in parallel with the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. She was killed alongside ten family members in an Israeli airstrike on their Gaza City home on 16 April 2025.

Life

Hassouna was born in Gaza City in 1999[1] and graduated with a multimedia degree from the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza. She began documenting life in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.[2]

As one of few local journalists able to document the war after Israel banned foreign reporters from Gaza, Hassouna chronicled forced civilian evacuations under Israeli military orders;[2] destruction of infrastructure from airstrikes; civilian casualties and funeral rituals; and moments of resilience, including children playing in ruins.[3] On 15 April 2025, she posted her final Instagram story showing a Gaza sunset with the caption: "It's the first sunset in a long time".[2] Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (2025), directed by Sepideh Farsi, features video conversations between Hassouna and the director, Sepideh Farsi. The film was selected for Cannes' ACID parallel section, an independent film programme shown during the official Cannes Film Festival.[4] In their final exchange, Hassouna told Farsi: "I'll come to Cannes, but I have to return to Gaza. I don't want to leave".[5]

Hassouna and ten relatives including her pregnant sister were killed when an Israeli missile struck their family home in Gaza City's Al-Touffah neighborhood on 16 April 2025.[6][7] The attack occurred one day after her documentary's selection for Cannes was announced.[7] She had previously written on social media "If I die, I want a loud death".[6] Hassouna was one of at least 175 journalists killed in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel by April 2025 according to press freedom groups.[3]

An investigation by UK research group Forensic Architecture concluded Hassouna's death was the result of a targeted attack – the missiles dropped by the Israeli military had "specifically targeted the Hassona family’s apartment on Floor 2" of the five-floor building.[8] The Israel Defense Forces stated they targeted "a Hamas member involved in attacks against Israeli soldiers", claiming use of precision weapons.[2] Sepideh Farsi rejected this justification, stating: "I know the whole family. It's nonsense".[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Geurts, Lize (18 April 2025). "Fatma Hassona, fotograaf van het dagelijks leven in Gaza, wilde een 'luidruchtige dood'". NRC (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. Archived from the original on 18 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Golshiri, Ghazal (17 April 2025). "Gaza photojournalist Fatima Hassouna killed in a strike with 10 of her relatives". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 18 April 2025. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b Ritman, Alex (17 April 2025). "Palestinian Journalist and Protagonist in Cannes-Bound Documentary Killed in Gaza". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 18 April 2025.
  4. ^ "L'acid - Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk". Le site de l'ACID – Association du Cinéma Indépendant pour sa Diffusion. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  5. ^ Barraclough, Leo (17 April 2025). "Gaza Photojournalist In Cannes Doc Killed In Israeli Strike". Deadline. Archived from the original on 18 April 2025. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  6. ^ a b Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (18 April 2025). "'If I die, I want a loud death': Gaza photojournalist killed by Israeli airstrike". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 April 2025. 25-year-old Hassouna was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit her home in northern Gaza. Ten members of her family, including her pregnant sister, were also killed
  7. ^ a b "Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna killed in Israeli airstrike ahead of Cannes debut". The Express Tribune. 17 April 2025.
  8. ^ Dodman, Benjamin; David Rich (15 May 2025). "Fatma Hassona's death in Gaza was 'targeted' killing, film director tells Cannes". France 24. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, protagonist of Cannes-selected doc, killed in Israeli airstrike". images.dawn.com. 18 April 2025.
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