Becoming the story: Injured journalists battle to leave Gaza for treatment

Published 26 July 2026 · health

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

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.