Voices from Gaza: Ali Jadallah, Photojournalist
Ali Jadallah 2020. Al-Zawiya market, Gaza
Ali has spent his professional life using his camera to chronicle Gaza, including decades of destruction and loss. Insaniyyat had the pleasure of working with him briefly in 2021 on the Souq Stories project during a period that now seems long past. Ali contributed stunning images of Gaza’s then bustling markets, shrunken and limited after decades of Israeli blockade, yet vibrant in their minutiae nonetheless. At the online meetings with the project’s other photographers in seven cities in Palestine, Ali always kept the mood upbeat, regularly cracking jokes. He missed a few meetings, preferring to be out taking photos. But he was swift to submit photographs and reply to our team’s messages. When we were finally able to send his modest stipend to Gaza, we wrote on the envelope “thank you for your efforts, that made the impossible possible.” He kindly replied “This is the best thing I’ve ever received, and we will make the impossible possible together.”
In October 2023 Ali was thrust into the center of the narrative he had long been reporting on.
Reaching Ali since Israel started bombing the Strip again this October has been difficult. He has courageously continued to visually document the harrowing violence that spares no one in Gaza and to get out the images to news organizations. Under extreme circumstances, he has managed to post on Instagram, narrating his painful odyssey amidst the unending horror, devastation and loss - which we share here. Unless otherwise noted, the quotations attributed to Ali are all from his Instagram page; we have chosen to include only some of his photographs here.
Tuesday, October 10th
“For years, I documented the pain of my people as their homes were bombed and destroyed, rendering them homeless. But eventually, my own story of tragedy and sorrow would need to be told, as I am also Palestinian. Israeli planes bombed my house, and along with it, my memories, hopes, and hardships. But the fact that God saved me and my [wife and children] from the blast is enough for me. We are all fine, thank God.”
Ali carries his son’s spiderman costume. (Ali Jadallah, Instagram October 10)
Two days later, Israel bombed and destroyed Ali’s parents’ home. The family was inside.
Friday, October 13th
“We have reached a catastrophic stage…”, Ali wrote under an image.
Ali is driving his car with his father’s body in the back seat, pulled from the rubble, taking him alone to be buried. There were no ambulances. There are no other family members at the burial. God rest his soul.
Saturday, October 14th
Ali posts an image of himself kissing the hand of his dead brother protruding from beneath the rubble.
Along with his father, Ali lost three brothers, Salah, Khaled and Saleh, and one of his sisters, Duaa.
They were not able to find Duaa's body. “She was in the kitchen when the missile landed there.” The home is a single story building, with no neighbors. Ali found remnants of the missile with some text on it: he could discern “5 meters.”
“Maybe the missile landed directly on her. After the war ends, and if I’m still alive, I will search for Duaa more.”
Tuesday, October 24th
“This is my mother. She was the only person who survived the Israeli attack on my family’s house.”
Thursday, October 26th
“This is Hassan’s (my son) Spiderman costume…
Hassan does not know that both his house and grandfather’s house has been flattened to the ground.
He does not know that his grandfather, aunt, and uncles were killed.
At least his Spiderman costume is okay.”
The costume survived both bombings.
Friday, October 27th
“I’m used to being the person behind the camera. Then on October 11th I was taking a photo of a house that had been bombed. It was near the street where my parents lived with my two brothers and sister. I heard an explosion and realised my family house had been hit. I ran towards it and saw it had been reduced to rubble.
The whole world died suddenly. There were no feelings, there were no colours, there was nothing. I tried to call my brothers but I knew they were under the rubble. Then I heard my mother’s voice – and I felt there was still hope in this world. I managed to pull her out. She was the only one who survived. We never found my sister’s body.
I left my wife and kids in the south of Gaza city and moved into al-Shifa hospital to stay with my injured mother. I became a body without a soul. I barely talk to my children – just a very short phone call every day. All I do is work. I’m part of a team of six photographers who live and work together at the hospital…
The most important thing now is to report what is happening. My team and I don’t really eat, or sleep more than a couple of hours a night. We’re fueling ourselves with dates, because they have a lot of sugar. I feel numb. I am a working machine.” (via The Economist)
Ali Jadallah, Nov 17, after Israel struck six houses in Al-Shati refugee camp.
Ali continues to take daily photos of the destruction. He asked us to share the images below.
Ali Jadallah's Instagram page October 23rd, Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City.
Images of death and suffering can become dehumanizing and desensitizing, but seeing Gaza through Ali’s eyes is urgent.
Ali Jadallah's Instagram page, November 6th.
Friday, November 3rd
Ali, along with his surviving sister, visited his mother who was still recovering in hospital. They were unloading food from his car to take in to his mom, when ambulances approached the hospital. An Israeli missile hit directly in front of the first ambulance. Ali took photos and videos. Several people died. His sister was injured by flying fragments.
Saturday, November 11th
Ali wrote to a Souq Stories team member:
“I AM OKAY
I DO NOT HAVE INTERNET
OR CALLS”
Ali cannot stay with his wife and two sons. “It’s dangerous for them,” he told us. Journalists are targeted. He knows of almost fifty who have been killed. Some were close friends.
Wednesday, November 15th
“I am Ali Jadallah, a Palestinian photojournalist based in the Gaza Strip.
I've documented the Israeli war on Gaza for 39 days, facing immense challenges.
I've lost two houses, 5 family members, friends, and colleagues.
While I've always been behind the camera, this time, I am the story.
Losing my father and siblings has left me heartbroken and homeless, along with my wife, kids, mother, and sister.
I typically keep my personal life private, but now I believe the world should understand the profound difficulty we're enduring.
Each photo I capture narrates a story.
Share them, tell the world what is happening in Gaza.
From Gaza with Love,
A J”
Sunday, November 19th
Ali’s uncle Belal, founder of Press House Palestine, is killed by an Israeli airstrike while traveling in his car South. Belal and PHP helped document “Israeli military killings of journalist over 22 years.” His efforts to protect Palestinian journalists did not save him.
EPILOGUE
In finalizing this text, the Souq Stories team realized we had listed three instead of four of Ali’s siblings killed by Israel. How weighty are such errors.
We dread needing to add any updates.
Ali Jadallah is a photojournalist, living in Gaza with his wife and two children. He has spent his professional life using his camera to chronicle Gaza for a number of news organizations. He briefly worked with Insaniyyat in 2021 as part of the Souq Stories project. His photographs have won several awards.