Journalist Motaz Azaiza showed the world what Palestinians endure in war. Now he's left Gaza
An independent Palestinian photojournalist whose social media coverage of the war in Gaza gave millions of people around the world a view of life and death in the besieged territory, has evacuated after surviving 108 days of reporting amid relentless bombings and battles.
Motaz Azaiza covered Israel’s destructive bombardments of the Palestinian territory since Israel declared war against Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 militant attacks on Israeli communities.
In a video posted on his social media accounts Tuesday, Azaiza told his nearly 20 million followers he was laying down his blue “Press” flak jacket — for now. His caption read that he had to leave Gaza “for a lot of reasons,” but he did not explain further.
“I’m sorry but, inshallah (God willing), hopefully soon I will come back … and help build Gaza again,” he said in the video before sharing farewells with friends and colleagues surrounding him.