Belal Khaled has not been in combat in the past 20 months that his homeland, Gaza, has been experiencing death and destruction by Israel, but the Palestinian photojournalist and graffiti artist uses his craft instead.
Khaled is in South Africa to share the story of the almost two-year bombardment of Gaza by Israel, which has left around 60,000 dead and many more still unaccounted for.
On Friday, he shared his journey since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel.
Khaled was in Doha, Qatar, on that day, but he immediately left for his homeland upon realising that Palestinians could face a hard war.
“I did not think about the risks to my life,” he recalled his return on October 8 through Egypt.
Khaled said he wanted to get into Gaza before its borders were closed and also to be with his family.
His mother, he explained, was shocked when he arrived home unannounced, as she knew he would be on the frontline working and documenting his compatriots’ stories.
“It is always on my mind that you are going to be shot, killed, or injured. I didn’t care because all of us are going to die. In Gaza, you don’t care about that,” Khaled added.
Already, more than 250 journalists have been killed by Israel, but he is undeterred by the risks he faces daily.
Khaled believes Israel targets journalists because of the fear that they are informing the world about the conditions of Palestinians.
“I have to tell my colleagues’ stories. We prefer to stay away from our families to protect them. A lot of my colleagues have lost their families,” he added.
His family’s home was bombed in the first month, which he maintains was due to his work, and his mother and sister were injured but have since recovered.
Khaled said that while Israel has not allowed any international media to cover the ongoing genocide, Palestinian journalists have lost limbs, their children, as well as their workspaces, which were destroyed in the first week of Israel’s war on Gaza.
“But none have stopped working. This is our resistance,” he stated.
Palestinian journalists have been operating from their cars and put up tents in hospitals, which have also been bombed, and used them as their offices and places to sleep.
However, this means little sleep as they often wake up to screams and have no choice but to cover the stories of the injured.
“All our days are between bombed houses and hospitals. It’s too heavy on us, even when you’re tired. They (the victims) are not just numbers; each victim, each massacre must be documented,” Khaled said.
“The mental health of journalists covering the genocide is adversely affected, but they have not sought any professional help, even if they cannot mourn the dead.
“Mental health is the last thing on journalists’ minds. We are so focused, worried about the killing, starvation, and death. We don’t have the luxury to think about it. When we lose someone, we don’t have the luxury of sadness,” said Khaled. Their job, he further explained, was to also carry victims and comfort them.
“Gazans talk to each other to heal their souls; we prefer this to therapy,” Khaled said, adding that there is always the realisation that there are others who are experiencing more suffering.
He continued: “We always remind ourselves that you don’t have the luxury of choice.”
Khaled is hopeful that the work of Palestinian journalists will eventually help bring justice to the victims.
“Human life is more important than photos. If you have a chance to help someone, you help,” he said.
Palestinians, Khaled said, blame governments that support Israel, which he declares wants to erase Gaza, but still believe in the free people of the world.
“This is the first genocide being broadcast live, 360 degrees,” said Khaled.
In addition to Israel’s war, Khaled indicated that Palestinians were also fighting social and mainstream media networks.
“There is also a social media war against us. Facebook, Meta restricts and deletes our content,” he complained, maintaining that the Palestinians’ truth is always hidden.
Israel’s biggest ally, the US, has no interest in stopping the war and is punishing everyone supporting Palestine, as witnessed across universities in that country, according to Khaled.
He said Palestinians have remained in their land throughout the two years of the war, but as soon as Israel started another conflict with Iran, their citizens began to leave after missiles hit several targets.
