Gaza’s Female Journalists in Israeli Line of Fire
(AWP) - Palestinian press correspondent Safinaz al-Louh faces hardship covering Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, now ongoing for more than five months, but is determined to continue her work in the field.
Safinaz lives in a tent inside a shelter center in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Since day one of the war, she has witnessed its agonizing developments, like other Palestinian female journalists, who have taken it upon themselves to broadcast them to the world at large.
“As journalists, especially as female journalists, we have been displaced from our homes, which were destroyed by the Israeli occupation warplanes. We came to shelter centers, whether in hospitals or elsewhere. We have worked since the first moment of this aggression, and covered this genocidal war on the Gaza Strip," said Safinaz.
“There are no set times for our daily work on this coverage. We work any time, even during the late hours of dawn, or at night, when there are raids waged by the occupation’s warplanes. We keep reporting about the shelling that takes place in the areas we cover,” she added.
The young reporter recounted some of the tough experiences she has been through while covering the war, which broke out on October 7, 2023 and has left more than 31,000 Palestinians dead so far.
“We suffer from the occupation’s terrorism. We have repeatedly seen the dead bodies of martyrs, and others with limbs mutilated in attacks by the Israeli occupation warplanes, with their lethal missiles, on the Gaza Strip,” she said.
The Palestinian journalist elaborated on the hazards and difficulties involved in her work, even away from the field, as she covers the incidents in the enclave.
“During this aggression, we have undergone many violations, difficulties and troubles, including the assassination of fellow journalists, the devastation of our houses, repeated injuries, and attacks by the occupation’s drones," Safinaz indicated.
“We are being targeted in the field, and even on social media, to prevent us from sending our voices out to the world and publicizing the massacres and terrorism perpetrated by the Israeli occupation against our Palestinian people,” she added.