@1tm122n22m Atma Unum
Fatima Hassouna, a brave Palestinian photojournalist, captured the human cost of conflict until her tragic death in an airstrike. Her legacy inspires resilience and remembrance. 🌅📸 #FatimaHassouna #Gaza #Journalism #Legacy https://wp.me/p3JLEZ-9ft
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.
Early life and education
Hassouna was born in Gaza City in 1999 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.
Career
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; destruction of infrastructure from airstrikes; civilian casualties and funeral rituals; and moments of resilience, including children playing in ruins.
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”.
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
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. 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”.
Death
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. The attack occurred one day after her documentary’s selection for Cannes was announced. She had previously written on social media “If I die, I want a loud death”.
The Israel Defense Forces stated they targeted “a Hamas member involved in attacks against Israeli soldiers”, claiming use of precision weapons. Director Sepideh Farsi rejected this justification, stating: “I know the whole family. It’s nonsense”.
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.
Legacy
France’s ACID organization described Hassouna as having “a smile as magical as her tenacity”. At least 175 journalists had been killed in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel by April 2025 according to press freedom groups. The International Federation of Journalists recorded 157 media worker deaths in the conflict zone since October 2023.
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