Gazan photojournalist, set to feature in documentary at Cannes festival, is killed in Israeli air strike

Fatima Hassouna died earlier this week along with nine members of her family

Fatima Hassouna worked to document the impact of the Israeli military campaign on her community. Photo: Sepideh Farsi

Fatima Hassouna, a Palestinian photojournalist and artist who captured everyday life under siege in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli air strike on Wednesday. She was 33.

Hassouna is the central figure in Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, a documentary by Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi that was selected this week for screening at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The film centres on video conversations between the two women and paints a portrait of life during war as told from inside Gaza.

The attack on Hassouna’s family home in Gaza city came just a day after the film’s official selection was announced by Acid, a Cannes sidebar dedicated to independent cinema. Nine of her family members also died in the strike.

A graduate of the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza, Hassouna had contributed photojournalism to international media outlets, including The Guardian, often working independently to document the impact of the Israeli military campaign on her community.

In the days before her death, she continued to share glimpses of daily life online, such as a sunset from her balcony in a rare moment of quiet.

In an earlier post, she wrote: “If I die, I want a loud death. I don’t want to be 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.”

In an interview with France's Le Monde, Farsi described Hassouna as “a sun”, recalling how she sent daily images, messages and voice notes despite the dangers. “Every morning, I would wake up and wonder if she was still alive,” Farsi said.

Acid also paid tribute on social media, writing: “Her smile was as magical as her tenacity: bearing witness, photographing Gaza, distributing food despite bombs, grief and hunger. Her story reached us and we rejoiced at each of her appearances to know she was alive; we feared for her. Yesterday, we learnt with horror that an Israeli missile targeted her building.”

Since the start of the war, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) estimates that more than 150 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza, though some reports put the figure above 200. The IFJ has called for an independent investigation and an end to the targeting of reporters.

Hassouna’s story now forms part of the documentary she helped shape, and one that will be screened for audiences in Cannes next month. “This is a different film than the one we will carry, support and present in every theatre,” Acid said. “All of us, filmmakers and spectators, must be worthy of her light.”