'Being a journalist in Gaza is different from anywhere else in the world'

By Bariskan Unal and Esat Firat

A photojournalist for Anadolu expressed the overwhelming feeling of arriving at a scene of Israel's attacks on Gaza before the first aid teams and the dilemma of performing the profession or helping people.

"You face such a situation; you see injured, dismembered, and shattered people there, and there are those who are alive, asking for help from you. At that moment, you find yourself in a dilemma; should I continue my role or should I help them without waiting for the first aid," said Mustafa Hassouna.

Hassouna, risking his life, photographed the sufferings of Palestinians exposed to Israel's attacks on Gaza for three months, experiencing the same difficulties as a Gazan himself.

Amid the relentless bombardment, he sometimes faced the dilemma of whether to perform his profession or help people. When he saw destroyed homes, he worried about his own wife and children.

Despite all this, what enabled him to stand firm and continue his profession was his desire to bring the events in Gaza to the world in all its starkness.

Photojournalist Hassouna explained the working conditions of journalists in Gaza during a discussion held at Anadolu's workshop on Jan. 10, within the scope of Working Journalists Day.

- 'You could be a target at any moment'

Hassouna expressed that this war was different from all five wars they had experienced since 2012.

"As a journalist, I can also say from a professional perspective that you are facing the Israeli army, and there is no limit to the aggressiveness of the Israeli army. You are facing such an army and country. The lack of a limit to this aggression causes serious anxiety in you, even if you are a journalist.

"Indeed, many of our colleagues were targeted. The weight of this situation is increasing. At any moment, you can become a target.

Therefore, practicing journalism in such an environment was really a big problem, very difficult," he said.

Hassouna stated that being a journalist in Gaza was different from being a journalist anywhere else in the world.

He said there were serious challenges faced moving from one problem to another, saying that the issue was not financial as there was money, but it had no means.

"Sometimes you can't find fuel, sometimes you can't find a vehicle. Most of the time, there was no electricity or internet. When there was no electricity and internet, we had to focus on the place where the sound was coming from. Sometimes, we completely lost contact and didn't know what was happening. Sometimes, we climbed high hills or tall buildings to see the point where smoke was rising and tried to move there," he said.

Hassouna expressed the difficulty of submitting a story about the lack of internet and electricity, saying they had to risk their life at times.

"We sometimes had to use Israeli SIM cards to send the material. However, Israeli SIM cards don't work in Gaza. You have to go to the border. The border area is the most dangerous zone. You could be a target of Israeli soldiers at any moment," he said, adding that there was a high probability of being a target in the crossfire as well.

"Similarly, the Israeli army has established checkpoints at the point that separates the north of Gaza from the south, and there are snipers, soldiers, and tanks there. You may be exposed to artillery fire and become a target for snipers. I had to report at this point three times; unfortunately, in all three, we were targeted by Israeli soldiers, and they opened fire directly at us. It wasn't just me; I had many colleagues working for international press and media companies with me, and they also opened fire at them," he said.

"Israel, especially as journalists in Gaza, deprived us not only of the rights and privileges that a journalist may have but also of the most basic human rights. As journalists, it was not possible for us to travel between cities and regions under reasonable conditions. We cannot even move from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. We are trapped in the Gaza Strip," he added.