Motaz Azaiza
Born
Motaz Hilal Azaiza
Alma materAl-Azhar University – Gaza
OccupationPhotojournalist
EmployerUNRWA

Motaz Hilal Azaiza (Arabic: معتز عزايزة) (born 1998/1999)[1] is a Palestinian photojournalist based in the Gaza Strip.[2][3][4][5]

Early life and education

Azaiza was raised in the Deir al-Balah refugee camp.[5] He attended Al-Azhar University of Gaza, where he graduated in 2021 with a degree in English language.[5] Azaiza is employed by UNRWA.[6]

Photojournalism

Prior to the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, Azaiza's online posts most focused on photographing daily life in Palestine.[3][5] Although he did cover the 2014 Gaza War and the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis, his account did not gain traction.[5] While many major media corporations have sent reporters to Israel to cover Hamas attacks and aftermaths, few foreign reporters are in Gaza to document and report as Israel and Egypt, who control access, have denied access. This has caused reporters like Azaiza to be key presences in reporting from Gaza.[7]

At the beginning of October 2023, Azaiza had about 25,000 Instagram followers;[5][7] this increased to 1 million by October 17,[8] 9 million by October 30,[3] 12.5 million by November 3,[7] and 13 million by November 7.[5] On October 13, Azaiza's Instagram account was restricted, with access restored the following day.[9]

In November 2023, Azaiza was named GQ Middle Easts Man of the Year, with editor Ahmad Ali Swaid stating that Azaiza's work helped show that "ordinary people, men and women - have the power to enact the very change that we want to see." His work was also recognized by Palestine Solidarity Campaign Lowkey, Shaun King, and Ahmed Shihab-Eldin in the article.[10]

Personal life

At least 15 of Azaiza's family members were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Deir al-Balah refugee camp on October 11.[8][11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Al-Hlou, Yousur (November 19, 2023). "The War in Gaza Is Also Unfolding on Instagram". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  2. ↑ Khadder, Kareem; Salman, Abeer; Saifi, Zeena (2023-11-06). "Gaza's communications blackout makes it difficult to "show the world what is happening," journalists say". CNN. Archived from the original on 2023-11-06. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  3. 1 2 3 "5 Doctors and Journalists Playing Vital Roles in Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis". Vogue Arabia. 2023-10-30. Archived from the original on 2023-11-12. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  4. ↑ "New views of destruction emerge as 36-hour Gaza communication blackout lifts". Los Angeles Times. 2023-10-29. Archived from the original on 2023-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Abed, Abubaker (2023-11-07). "Motaz Azaiza: Gaza's window to the world". The New Arab. Archived from the original on 2023-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  6. ↑ MENAFN. "Motaz Azaiza becomes Gaza's pivotal digital journalist". menafn.com. Archived from the original on 2023-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  7. 1 2 3 Abbruzzese, Jason; Ingram, David; Salam, Yasmine (2023-11-03). "On Instagram, Palestinian journalists and digital creators documenting Gaza strikes see surge in followers". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  8. 1 2 Amer, Linah Alsaafin,Ruwaida. "Surrounded by death, Gaza content creators fight to get the truth out". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2023-11-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ Piper, Ernie (2023-10-24). "A bombing in Gaza killed an influencer's family—Instagram responded by suspending his account". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  10. ↑ Monaghan, Becca (24 November 2023). "GQ honours Palestinian journalist Motaz Azaiza as Man of the Year | indy100". www.indy100.com. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  11. ↑ Simões, Tiago (October 30, 2023). "Motaz Azaiza - O jornalista que ganhou 10 milhões de seguidores a mostrar a realidade nua e crua de Gaza". Revista Nova Gente (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2023-11-07. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
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