Fatima Hassouna
Fatima Hassouna | |
|---|---|
فاطمة حسّونة | |
 | |
| Born | 1999 |
| Died | 16 April 2025 (aged 25–26) Al-Touffah, Gaza City, Gaza Strip |
| Cause of death | Israeli airstrike |
| Other names | Fatma Hassona |
| Occupation(s) | Photojournalist, artist |
| Years active | 2023–2025 |
| Known for | Documenting Gaza War impacts, Cannes-selected documentary subject |
Fatima Hassouna (/həˈsuːnə/ hə-SOO-nə; 1999[1] – 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 during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.[2] She was killed alongside ten family members in an Israeli airstrike on their Gaza City home on 16 April 2025.[3][4][5][6]
Early life and education
[edit]Hassouna was born in Gaza City and graduated with a multimedia degree from the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza. She began documenting life in Gaza after the escalation of hostilities on 7 October 2023.[3]
Career
[edit]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;[3] destruction of infrastructure from airstrikes; civilian casualties and funeral rituals; and moments of resilience, including children playing in ruins.[7]
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".[3]
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
[edit]Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (2025), directed by Sepideh Farsi, features video conversations between Hassouna and the director. The film was selected for Cannes' ACID parallel section, an independent film programme shown during the official Cannes Film Festival.[8] 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".[4]
Death
[edit]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.[9][10] The attack occurred one day after her documentary's selection for Cannes was announced.[10] She had previously written on social media "If I die, I want a loud death".[9]
The Israel Defense Forces stated they targeted "a Hamas member involved in attacks against Israeli soldiers", claiming use of precision weapons.[3] Director Sepideh Farsi rejected this justification: "I know the whole family. It's nonsense".[11]
Legacy
[edit]France's ACID organization described Hassouna as having "a smile as magical as her tenacity". Over 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza by April 2025 according to press freedom groups.[7] The International Federation of Journalists recorded 157 media worker deaths in the conflict zone since October 2023.[10][5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ Zbeedat, Nagham (17 April 2025). "Gaza-based Photo Journalist, Subject of Anticipated Cannes Documentary, Killed in Israeli Strike". Haaretz. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Gaza photojournalist Fatima Hassouna killed in a strike with 10 of her relatives". Le Monde. 17 April 2025. Archived from the original on 18 April 2025. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b "Guerre à Gaza : la photojournaliste Fatima Hassouna assassinée dans le bombardement de sa maison par Israël". L'Humanité (in French). 16 April 2025. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ Nabaa, Clara (17 April 2025). "Photographer Fatima Hassona killed ahead of Cannes documentary debut". Euronews. Archived from the original on 18 April 2025. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c "Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna killed in Israeli airstrike ahead of Cannes debut". The Express Tribune. 17 April 2025.
- ^ "Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, protagonist of Cannes-selected doc, killed in Israeli airstrike". Dawn. 18 April 2025.
External links
[edit]- Fatima Hassouna at IMDb
- Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk at Film-documentaire.fr
- "Democracy Now Interviews Sepideh Farsi"
- "A Resonant Death: Poems & Reflections" by Fatima Hassouna at ArabLit magazine
- 1999 births
- 2025 deaths
- 21st-century Palestinian journalists
- 21st-century Palestinian photographers
- Assassinated Palestinian journalists
- Civilians killed in the Israel–Hamas war
- Deaths by Israeli airstrikes
- Extrajudicial killings by the Israeli military
- Journalists from Gaza City
- Journalists from the Gaza Strip
- Journalists killed by Israeli security forces
- Palestinian people of the Israel–Hamas war
- Palestinian photojournalists
- Palestinian reporters and correspondents
- Palestinian war correspondents
- Photographers from Gaza City
- War photographers