GAZA CITY, Palestine
While the world celebrates International Women's Day on Friday, Palestinian women journalists are struggling to cover the atrocities of the Israeli war that has been ongoing in the Gaza Strip for more than five months.
On March 8 each year, the world commemorates International Women’s Day to celebrate the social, political and economic achievements of women.
Palestinian women journalists have spared no effort to document many Israeli crimes against Gaza women during the war that has been ongoing since Oct. 7, 2023.
Palestinian journalists monitored in real time the tragedy that women and children are experiencing due to the devastating war.
At least 63 women in Gaza are killed daily as a result of the Israeli war, with the majority being mothers, The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) reported on Friday.
“On International Women's Day, the women in Gaza continue to endure the consequences of this brutal war,” the agency wrote on X. “At least 9,000 women have been killed, and many more are under the rubble,” the statement added.
Challenges media professionals face in Gaza
Palestinian journalist Hind Al-Khudari, 28, has been working in the media since 2017.
She said she never imagined that “International Women’s Day would come while Palestinian women would be subjected to a war of extermination by Israel.”
In an interview with Anadolu, she pointed out that the current situation in the Gaza Strip affects all Palestinian women regardless of their professions.
“While the world celebrates Women's Day, Palestinian women are being displaced from their homes,” Khudari said.
“We lost our loved ones, we suffer from lack of food, and we don’t have access to our most basic needs. We lost our livelihoods, our future, our homes, and our children,” she added.
“The war directly affected me,” the Palestinian journalist said.
“I am not just a journalist covering the war. Rather, I am a displaced person. I left my family and my husband and chose, despite the circumstances, to remain in Gaza and cover the war,” she added.
Khudari noted: “Internal, psychological and physical conflicts affect us a lot. All the women of Gaza and Palestine are subjected to violations by the Israeli army."
“The challenges we face are very great. We lack many basic rights, even access to the bathroom becomes a challenge,” Khudari said, noting that: “When we get one meal, we consider it a precious treasure.”
"Women here are displaced persons, mothers of martyrs, or widows. They have lost their jobs, their homes, and their loved ones,” she added.
The journalist called on the world to highlight Palestinian women’s struggles on International Women's Day.
‘We strive to convey the truth’
Journalist Doaa Al-Baz, 27, continues to report the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, despite her displacement from Deir Al-Balah to the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Baz wanders with her camera among the rubble and destroyed homes, documenting the massacres committed by Israel in Gaza.
“Since the beginning of the war on Gaza, we have been working to document the occupation’s crimes against families, especially women, who are subjected to the most horrific violations,” Baz told Anadolu.
“On International Women's Day, we want to convey the image of women who are subjected to the most horrific massacres in Gaza,” she said.
She pointed out: “During this war, the occupation targeted women, children, and innocent people.”
“Israel bombed our homes and killed our loved ones,” she added.
“We lack everything, including privacy. There are no bathrooms, and we struggle to convey the real picture,” Baz said.
TRT Arabi channel correspondent, Ruba Al-Ajrami, 30, confirmed that the siege and attacks launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip left all Palestinians, especially women, struggling for survival under impossible circumstances.
Ruba, a mother of four, the youngest of whom is eight months old, said: “While the world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, Palestinian women are struggling to survive amid the great challenges they face.”
"I am doing my best to provide food and other basic life needs for my family in the city of Rafah after I took refuge there to escape the attacks launched on Gaza,” the journalist said.
“At the same time, we are seeking to document what is happening in Gaza and publish it for the world to see,” she added.
Ruba pointed out that she had to flee several times from Gaza City to Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip due to repeated attacks.
She vowed that Palestinian female journalists will continue to cover the events of Gaza despite repeated attacks by Israeli forces.
About 60,000 pregnant women endure severe medical conditions, lacking basic medical care, with hundreds losing children due to Israeli bombings.
At least 8,900 Palestinian women have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the Israeli war on the enclave erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, the Gaza media office said Friday.
More than 30,800 Palestinians have been killed and over 72,400 others injured in Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Palestinian groups estimate that thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
*Writing by Ikram Kouachi
