Becoming the story: Injured journalists battle to leave Gaza for treatment
Gaza journalists injured or battling illness during the war are demanding urgent medical evacuation, as they struggle to access life-saving treatment abroad.
Gaza City — Every morning, photojournalist Mohammed al-Qahouji tries to piece together a life that the war nearly took from him.
The 40-year-old freelance photographer says returning to journalism has become as much a physical challenge as an emotional one, every assignment interrupted by pain that shoots through his jaw, hand and back.
He has lived with this pain since he narrowly survived an Israeli air raid on January 7, 2024, when he reported on the recovery of the bodies in southern Gaza with Al Jazeera’s Hamza al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Abu Thuraya.
They were making their way back to their car when an Israeli warplane targeted the media crew, killing al-Dahdouh and Abu Thuraya, and seriously injuring al-Qahouji.
“We survived and kept driving because we never imagined that journalists documenting the aftermath would themselves become targets,” al-Qahouji told Al Jazeera.
“The paramedics placed me on top of Hamza al-Dahdouh’s body because they thought I had already died. Only later did they realise I was still alive.”
Stuck in Gaza
The blast tore his face from his eye to a major artery, requiring surgeons to implant titanium plates into his cheeks. His right hand sustained severe tendon and joint damage, with surgeons amputating one finger due to the severity of his injuries.
Injuries to his spine left him with a perpetual numbness in his lower limbs, making it difficult to stand or walk for long periods. More than two years later, his scars remain visible, and he has undergone more than 25 surgeries since then.
Doctors say he needs further reconstructive operations and long-term rehabilitation, but that is only available abroad.
He is now torn between a will to continue documenting Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and seeking specialised medical treatment abroad to end this persistent pain.
In a worn-out apartment he has rented since his original home was destroyed in an Israeli bombing in November 2023, al-Qahouji says he’s torn between continuing to document Israel’s genocidal war and leaving Gaza for life-changing surgery.
“I want to work again. It’s my only source of income, but my body doesn’t allow me to do what I used to,” he said.
“My injuries have taken away nearly 90 percent of my ability to work. Today, my dream is simple: to receive treatment and return to the field where I spent years documenting other people’s stories.”
Evacuations now
Members of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) held a sit-in at their headquarters in Gaza City on Wednesday, calling for the medical evacuation of injured and sick journalists from Gaza.
The party, including dozens of injured journalists, held photos of some of the 263 media workers killed by Israel during the war.
Ahed Farwana, secretary-general of the PJS, says more than 40 Palestinian journalists are currently living with serious war-related injuries or medical conditions that require treatment only available outside Gaza.
The syndicate has submitted medical files and documentation to international organisations, urging them to facilitate the journalists’ evacuation and guarantee their right to return once their treatment is completed.
“The right to medical treatment is a basic human right. It should never be denied because of war, siege or movement restrictions,” Farwana said.
The syndicate holds Israel responsible for preventing injured journalists from leaving Gaza but is also critical of international organisations for failing to do more than issuing “statements of concern”.
“The journalists documented this war from its first day, often at enormous personal risk,” Farwana says. “Today, many of them are no longer asking for anything except the chance to survive.”
For photojournalist Moaz al-Salhi, 34, attending the protest was a deeply personal experience, but he still had to swallow several painkillers to stay on his feet.
“I want to fight for my rights. I won’t stay waiting for death,” he says quietly. “Without the medication, I wouldn’t have been able to stand.”
A life in disease
Al-Salhi was diagnosed with severe Crohn’s disease in 2022 and was due to begin biological treatment in Israel in October 2023 when the war erupted.
He was left without the treatment he desperately needs and stuck in a cycle of repeated medical emergencies.
Al-Salhi scrolls through his phone and shows photographs and medical reports documenting his repeated hospital admissions since then.
Almost every week, his condition deteriorates to the point he loses consciousness and he is rushed again to hospital.
“I keep trying to resist the disease so I can continue working, but every time I think I’m getting better, I collapse again,” he said.
He now carries medication along with his camera equipment as he goes on assignments, but sometimes these roles are reversed, and he is one of the victims in this story.
“There were days when I covered stories with an IV cannula still in my hand. I was exhausted, but I wanted to keep telling people’s stories,” he said. “Now, I have become the story. I’m the one who needs treatment.”
The disease has taken a visible toll. He has lost significant weight and says his body grows weaker after every relapse.
His greatest fear, and that of his family, is that his condition will suddenly become irreversible if he remains trapped inside Gaza without access to specialised care.
“My family is terrified that one day my body simply won’t be able to take any more,” the father of two says. “I don’t want to reach that stage.”
Escaping Gaza
Leaving Gaza is now essential to prevent al-Salhi’s body from completely collapsing.
“I don’t want anything extraordinary,” he says. “I just want the chance to receive treatment, return to my family and go back to doing the work I love.”
Sadly, for al-Salhi and other injured or critically ill patients in Gaza, there are barriers for him to cross to access life-saving treatment abroad.
Israel has imposed a crippling siege on Gaza, restricting access in and out, leaving those in need of urgent medical attention stuck inside the strip.
At the same time, Israel’s systematic destruction of healthcare facilities has left many with medical conditions that might normally be treated in Gaza, helpless.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 18,500 patients in Gaza currently require urgent medical evacuation for specialised care that is unavailable locally.
Since the start of the war, only a fraction of those in need have been able to leave through a limited medical evacuation mechanism. Thousands more remain on the waiting list.
The Rafah crossing – the main route for patients seeking treatment abroad out of Gaza – has been only partially and periodically opened by Israel to allow small numbers of sick Palestinians and their companions to leave for treatment in Egypt or other countries.
Aid agencies have repeatedly warned that restrictions on movement have delayed access to essential treatment for patients with serious injuries, chronic illnesses and conditions requiring specialised care unavailable in Gaza.