Gaza journalist featured in new Cannes documentary killed in Israeli airstrike

CNN Fatima Hassouna a war documentarian who had covered the conflict in Gaza on the ground for months and the subject of a new documentary to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival next month was killed along with seven members of her family in an Israeli strike this week If I die I want a resounding death I do not want me in urgent news nor in a number with a group Hassouna wrote in a post on Instagram in August I want a death that the world hears an effect that remains for the extent of the ages and immortal images that neither time nor space buries added the photojournalist The medical ministry in Gaza notified CNN on Friday that Hassouna s parents survived the strike on Wednesday but both suffered critical injuries and are in an intensive care unit The Palestinian Journalists Protection Center PJPC revealed it mourns the loss of Hassouna It reported that the strike that killed her targeted her family s home on Al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City and also killed several of her family members It described the attack as a crime against journalists and a violation of international law Fatima s powerful photos documenting life under siege were published globally shedding light on the human toll of the war the center explained The Israel Defense Forces IDF stated on Wednesday that the target was a terrorist in Hamas Gaza City Brigade and that policies were taken to mitigate the jeopardy of harm to civilians The terrorist planned and executed terror attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians the IDF commented in a message without providing further details Fatima s cousin Hamza Hassouna recounted the strike to CNN Friday I was sitting when suddenly two rockets fell one next to me and one in the living room The house fell on us and everything was a tragedy he reported Hassouna posted her photos on Facebook and Instagram where she had more than followers Her images documented the challenges of everyday life in Gaza and the threat of living under Israeli bombardment She was featured in Sepideh Farsi s documentary film Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk which has been selected to be screened in the ACID section at the th Cannes Film Festival in May A director s announcement describes the film as a window opened through a miraculous encounter with Fatima into the ongoing massacre of the Palestinians Following the news of Hassouna s death the Iranian film director on Friday shared a photo on social media featuring herself on camera with Hassouna who was displaying cheer My last image of her is a smile I cling to it in the modern day Farsi wrote alongside the picture Speaking to CNN Friday Farsi explained Hassouna was a very bright and sunny person had an amazing smile and was an optimistic person by nature The film director disclosed she had worked with Hassouna for more than a year on the documentary and that they got to know each other very well Farsi commented the last time she contacted Hassouna was one day before her death to give her the happy news about the documentary We both discussed her traveling to France in May to present the documentary in Cannes with me since she is the main protagonist Farsi announced I thought it was a mistake when I heard about her death Farsi added I hope this documentary will shed light on her life in Gaza and serve as a tribute to her memory According to the PJPC the number of journalists who have died in the Gaza Strip since October has risen to an unprecedented toll according to numerous journalist groups The organization called on the international district to open an immediate research into the case and hold those responsible to account Hassouna s neighbor Um Aed Ajur described Hassouna as proud of the work she was doing She questioned the strike on her house saying she and her family have no connection to any group We have been neighbors for years and have never heard that they are connected to any group she added Hassouna s final post on her Facebook page was a series of photos of Gaza fishermen by the sea last Saturday less than a week before she was killed She posted the pictures with a short poem From here you get to know the city You enter it but you don t leave because you won t leave and you can t she wrote