Renowned Palestinian Photojournalist Fatima Hassouna Killed in Israeli Airstrike Just One Day After Cannes Film Premiere Announcement

In a devastating escalation of violence in Gaza, celebrated Palestinian photojournalist and multimedia artist Fatima Hassouna was killed on Tuesday, April 16, 2025, when an Israeli airstrike leveled her family home in Gaza City’s Al-Touffah neighborhood. The 25-year-old was killed alongside nine members of her family, including her pregnant sister, in what eyewitnesses described as a direct and catastrophic strike.

The death of Hassouna sent shockwaves through the international art and journalism communities. Her final Instagram story, posted just hours before the strike, was a haunting yet ordinary moment of family life, now a permanent memorial.

A Rising Star in Documentary Filmmaking

What makes this tragedy even more harrowing is the cruel timing of her death. Just 24 hours prior, it was announced that Fatima Hassouna would be the central figure in Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi’s new documentary, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, set to premiere this May in the prestigious ACID program at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film is composed of intimate video conversations between Farsi and Hassouna, capturing the surreal blend of everyday life and existential dread in Gaza. Farsi, who spent over a year building trust and friendship with Hassouna through virtual exchanges, described her as “a deeply poetic soul, whose resilience in the face of destruction embodied the spirit of Gaza.”

“To know that she is now gone, to know her light was extinguished like this, my heart is shattered,” Farsi said in a public statement.

Documenting Life and Death Under Occupation

Fatima Hassouna had become a beacon of resistance through art. Born on April 15, 1999, she studied multimedia at the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza and began her career as a photographer and journalist. Her work chronicled the painful complexities of life under siege, focusing not just on the violence, but on the perseverance of ordinary people, especially women and children.

Her photographs often depicted weddings held in ruins, girls dancing in bombed-out streets, and elders planting flowers next to shrapnel-scarred walls. She once said in an interview, “To live in Gaza is to live between two deaths. But in between, we dance, we love, we create.”

She was well-known for contributing powerful photo essays to regional outlets and was considered one of the most promising young visual storytellers in the Middle East.

A Family Erased in an Instant

The missile strike that killed Hassouna reportedly hit without warning. Neighbors said the building “collapsed like paper” and that there were no prior alerts, a practice often cited by the Israeli military as a way to reduce civilian casualties. Emergency workers pulled the bodies from the rubble hours later, including that of Hassouna’s 9-year-old nephew and her father, who was partially paralyzed.

The loss of an entire family unit in one instant is tragically common in Gaza, where nearly 33,000 people have been killed since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Outrage and Mourning Across the Globe

News of Hassouna’s death spread rapidly, prompting widespread outrage from artists, journalists, and human rights activists around the world. Social media was flooded with tributes under the hashtag #FatimaHassouna, calling for accountability and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

“This is not collateral damage. This is the silencing of a voice that dared to tell the truth,” tweeted British-Palestinian author Selma Dabbagh.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a statement condemning the killing and urging the international community to investigate the targeting of media workers in conflict zones.

An Unfinished Legacy

The Cannes Film Festival is now grappling with how to honor Hassouna’s memory. ACID organizers confirmed that the screening of Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk will go forward, now with added urgency and sorrow. Discussions are reportedly underway about holding a special tribute to the young journalist who will never get to walk the red carpet.

Though Fatima Hassouna’s life was brutally cut short, her voice, her lens, and her indomitable spirit will endure. Her final project now becomes not just a documentary, it becomes a memorial.

As filmmaker Sepideh Farsi put it:
“She wanted the world to see Gaza, and now, the world must not look away.“

If you would like to honor Fatima Hassouna’s memory, consider supporting journalism safety funds and humanitarian relief organizations working in Gaza.