In Memory of Fatma Hassona
On 16 April 2025, the world lost a luminous talent and a courageous voice when 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona was killed in an Israeli missile strike on her home in Gaza City.
The attack claimed the lives of Fatma and nine members of her family, extinguishing a life dedicated to documenting the human cost of conflict and sharing the resilience of her people with the world.
In her own words, Fatma recently expressed a desire for her death to resonate beyond a mere statistic:
“As for the inevitable death, if I die, I want a loud death, I don’t want me in a breaking news story, nor in a number with a group, I want a death that is heard by the world, a trace that lasts forever, and immortal images that neither time nor place can bury.”
Fatma got her “loud death.” But not in the way she wanted — not as a celebrated artist on the world stage, not as a recognized voice, but as another casualty in a war where cameras are targeted and the truth itself is seen as a threat. And yet her wish lives on. Her death has been heard by the world, and her trace is unmistakable.
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
In April 2024, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi, who had been exiled to France after imprisonment in Iran, felt overwhelmed by the devastating attacks and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Determined to act, she travelled to Cairo in hopes of reaching Gaza, but when access proved impossible, she began filming Palestinian refugees in Egypt instead. There, she met a man recently escaped from Gaza who told her about Fatma Hassona, “a young, brilliant and talented photographer.”
Farsi reached out to Hassona, proposing a film told through her perspective — about her life and that of Gaza’s people, trapped under relentless bombardment.
“Fatem was already covering the war in Gaza. She occasionally collaborated with media by sending them photos and videos. Every day, she sent me photos, written messages, voice notes,” Farsi said. “When the connection allowed, we had video calls. Every morning, I woke up wondering if she was still alive.”
In addition to her photojournalism, Hassona worked with children affected by war, organizing writing workshops at a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza. It was there she met her fiancé, Moutaz, a young computer scientist with what she described as a “big heart.”
Fatma Hassona and her family were targeted by Israel on the day after she had received the news that the documentary in which she is the central figure, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, had been selected for the Association for Independent Cinema and its Distribution (ACID) section of the Cannes Film Festival. The documentary is to be screened at Cannes in May 2025.
Directed by Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi, the film chronicles nearly a year of conversations and exchanges between the two women, offering an intimate glimpse into life under siege in Gaza.
“This film is a window, opened by the miracle of an encounter with Fatem, that allowed me to see fragments of the ongoing massacre of Palestinians. Fatem became my eyes in Gaza, and I became a link between her and the outside world. We maintained this lifeline for almost a year. The bits of pixels and sounds exchanged between us became the film that is here,” Sepideh Farsi said.
ACID Statement on Fatma’s Murder
“Yesterday, we were shocked to learn that an Israeli missile had targeted her building, killing Fatem and her family,” said the ACID statement, published on behalf of the filmmakers in the ACID section and members of the ACID team.
“We had watched and programmed a film in which this young woman’s life force seemed like a miracle. This is no longer the same film we are going to support and present in theaters, starting with Cannes. All of us, filmmakers and spectators alike, must be worthy of her light.”
Was Fatima Hassona targeted by IDF because of the documentary?
When asked about Hassona’s death, the Israeli Defence Force said it targeted “a Hamas member” involved “in attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians.” The Israelis said that “precautions were taken to avoid civilian casualties.”
“It’s nonsense. I know the whole family,” Sepideh Farsi said. “I even feel guilty … maybe they targeted her because the film was announced. I don’t know. We’ll never know.”
Following her death, ACID (Association for the Distribution of Independent Cinema) issued a public statement reflecting on their brief but powerful connection with her. Fatma’s murder has changed the context of the documentary:
“Her smile was as magical as her tenacity: bearing witness, photographing Gaza, distributing food despite bombs, grief, and hunger. We had watched and programmed a film in which this young woman’s life force was nothing short of miraculous. This is a different film than the one we will carry, support, and present in every theater, starting with Cannes.”
Fatma Hassona photography
Fatma’s photography captured the stark realities of war, focusing on the civilian toll of Israeli military actions in Gaza. Her images, widely recognized and published, served as a testament to her commitment to bearing witness and giving voice to the voiceless.
Fatma Hossona posted this image to her Instagram account from Gaza City on 9 March 2025 – “On International Women’s Day, we remember every Palestinian woman who has been a symbol of resilience in the face of the machinery of annihilation and killing. Every Palestinian woman who endured oppression and injustice. Every Palestinian woman who sacrificed her own flesh to feed her children and shield them from the death of hunger.”
This photograph can be purchased from the Yura Collective. Fatma Hossona describes her photo: 25 March 2023 – “Family” is a complete word, it came in a complete composition of a picture, a picture through which you feel everything, the warmth, the intimacy, the hand that makes with love, the smile that helps this hand, and the big heart that gathers everyone and never tires of giving, all under one sky, guarded by angels of light, and olive trees. This work is the first documentation that my camera can testify to, and give me the title of “photographer” through it.
Fatma Hassouna graduated in Multimedia from the University College of Applied Sciences. Fatma was a member of Yura collective and their social media platform Untold Palestine, which was originally launched in 2019.
“I began my journey with Untold Palestine and Yura during the war, but I couldn’t start photographing until six months later due to fear. The team reaching out to me was a turning point, as they encouraged me to take photos and move forward. Over time, I gained the courage to go out, capture images, and tell stories, until I decided to cover events on the ground, despite the difficulty of witnessing such scenes, especially Al-Tabaeen Massacre. Through this team, I had the privilege of meeting many inspiring individuals, and I found a platform that allowed me to share my photos and stories with the world, shedding light on the untold narrative of Palestine and giving a voice to its silent struggles,” Fatma Hossona said.
She worked with the Tamer Foundation for Community Education and the Women’s Affairs Foundation as a photographer and was a member of the editorial team for the literary group “Yara’at Al Adabi”. Fatma was a member of the “She Leads” program with the organization Plan International. Her works had been showcased in several local exhibitions including Gaza Habibti and SAFE.
“Far from anything, far from you, O world, from you, O tent, from you, O home.
I stand in the middle of my ruins, a pink rose among ashes, a plant wanting life among piles of artificial dust, a manifestation of light, life, and nature. I stand after death, a contradiction between myself and myself, my self returning from death, and my other self that wants to feel, even if it is on the ruins of a tragedy, on the ruins of a life, on the ruins of a home.
Far is the home, the tent is closer, the tent is my disappointment, the destruction of meaning for me, my life has no meaning far from home, things have no meaning here.
They say everything is more beautiful from afar, but my home was the beautiful, close thing in my life, the only closeness I want to attain, the only place I want to be in… now“
“I stand amidst my ruin, a pink rose among ashes, a plant yearning for life among heaps of manufactured dust, a manifestation of light, life, and nature. I stand after death, contradicting myself, my self returned from death, and my other self that wishes to feel, even if it’s upon the ruins of tragedy, upon the ruins of life, upon the ruins of home.
The home is distant; the tent is closer. The tent embodies my disappointment and the ruin of meaning for me. Life holds no meaning away from home; the things here lack significance.
They say everything looks more beautiful than afar, but my home was the beautiful, close thing in my life—the only closeness I long for, the only place I wish to be… now,” Fatma Hassona wrote on Instagram.
Her untimely passing has indeed echoed globally, underscoring the perilous conditions faced by journalists in conflict zones and the importance of their work. Fatma’s legacy endures through her powerful imagery and the stories she told, reminding the world of the human faces behind the headlines.
To honor Fatma’s memory and support her mission, readers are encouraged to explore her work and share her story, ensuring that her voice continues to inspire and inform.
Her final photographs, like her life, refused to look away. Neither should we.
Fatma Hassona’s Instagram
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