Ali Ibrahim Ali Islih, 31 years old, married with a daughter, journalist at Alam24 Agency, resident of Khan Younis
Date of Testimony: 30 April 2025
I am married with a daughter, who was born during the war. I have worked in journalism for 10 years and started working with Alam 24 Agency three years ago. I am originally from the Al-Manara neighborhood in Khan Younis, but I am currently displaced in Muwasi, Khan Younis.
I was injured in an airstrike targeting journalists’ tents near Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis on 7 April 2025. I had gone to sleep in our designated tent near the medical complex at around 12:30 AM after a long day covering the arrival of martyrs following an Israeli bombing in the camp.
About half an hour after falling asleep, I woke up to the screams of my four fellow journalists in the tent, all of whom were injured. Abdullah Al-Attar was injured in his abdomen, Muhammad Faiq Abu Mustafa in his leg, and Yousef Sarsak, a young man working with us, was injured in his head. The smoke in the tent was thick, and I was in shock, not understanding what was happening. I rushed out of the tent and found it burning, with people shouting the name “Hassan,” a journalist in the adjacent tent who is my cousin [Hassan Islih, 37]. In a state of shock, I couldn’t comprehend what was happening around me. Suddenly, I saw people carrying a bloodied person, screaming Hassan’s name. I ran with them to the emergency department, still in shock.
Upon arriving, I checked my leg and found it warm and bleeding, unable to understand how this had happened. I collapsed, and doctors and nurses immediately attended to me, but all I could think about was Hassan—what had happened to him. A colleague reassured me that Hassan was injured but not fatally. The strike had hit an adjacent tent, which belonged to journalists from Palestine Today. It was later confirmed that the bombing led to the martyrdom of journalist Hilmi Al-Faqawi, 28, and Yousef Khalil Ibrahim Al-Khuzndar, 29, a media assistant. Additionally, 10 colleagues were injured, including myself.
At that moment, I felt a slight relief knowing that Hassan had not been killed, as I had collapsed upon hearing rumors of his death. My injuries were shrapnel wounds: one under my stomach and another in my thigh. The other injured included:
My injury was part of the ongoing suffering and harsh reality we have endured since the Israeli war on Gaza began. Like other journalists in the region, I started covering the war from its early days. The scale of the bombardment, carpet bombing, and constant unfolding events made it hard to comprehend. Yet, I worked diligently to report on these events professionally for the agency, despite the hardships, including the targeting of our workplace at the Press House, roads, and journalists directly. We journalists sought shelter in hospitals, but things became extremely difficult. I had to balance my work and care for my family, especially since my wife was pregnant at the time. On 1 January 2024, Israeli forces ordered the evacuation of my residential area in Al-Manara, South Khan Younis. As a result, we fled to Rafah. Conditions were challenging, and I had to make a tent from blankets since I could not afford to buy one. I moved with them, feeling their pressure and concern for me as I was far from them. In Rafah, I joined the journalists’ compound at Kuwait Hospital, worked by day, and tried to balance the shortage of food and water. During our forced displacement in Rafah, my first daughter, Miral, was born on 9 April 2024.
At the end of April 2024, after the Israeli forces withdrew, we returned to Khan Younis. My house was partially destroyed, so I repaired it and we lived in it. I worked from home for a while before returning to Nasser Medical Complex. On 1 October 2024, during the Iranian missile attack on Israel, I was covering the news when, unexpectedly, the Israeli army was preparing to invade the Al-Manara neighborhood.
By 7:00 PM, we heard heavy Israeli shelling and gunfire. We initially thought it was a result of the Iranian attack, but after half an hour, the shelling intensified, and nearby homes were targeted by Israeli airstrikes. People started fleeing, and some managed to leave, while others, including myself and my family, remained since the Israeli army had surrounded our area. This lasted until 3:30 AM the next day.
It was a terrifying time for us. I was with my wife, our six-month-old daughter, who was born in the tent, my elderly grandfather (79 years old and immobile), my parents, and my siblings, in one room. The Israeli drone fire and shelling never stopped until the army withdrew in the morning. With the continued bombardment of nearby homes, my house was severely damaged and uninhabitable. We were forced to move to Muwasi, Khan Younis.
I have struggled on many occasions to provide milk and diapers for my daughter. We, like everyone else, suffered from illnesses, especially skin diseases. As a journalist, I face immense challenges in performing my duties, particularly securing electricity and internet to continue my work. We have tried to overcome these challenges and keep going, even if at a minimum level.
On the evening of 30 April 2025, the remaining part of my three-story house, where I lived with 11 other family members in Al-Manara, was once again targeted by Israeli airstrikes, leading to its complete destruction. We are still forcibly displaced in Muwasi, Khan Younis, struggling to provide food amid the tightening siege. I continue my journalistic work despite the risks and difficulties related to electricity, internet, and focusing on securing my family’s needs, especially with the markets running low on goods.
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