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

Gaza City — Every morning, photojournalist Mohammed al-Qahouji tries to portion unneurotic a beingness that the warfare astir took from him.

The 40-year-old freelance lensman says returning to journalism has go arsenic overmuch a carnal situation arsenic an affectional one, each duty interrupted by symptom that shoots done his jaw, manus and back.

He has lived with this symptom since helium narrowly survived an Israeli aerial raid connected January 7, 2024, erstwhile helium reported connected the betterment of the bodies successful confederate Gaza with Al Jazeera’s Hamza al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Abu Thuraya.

They were making their mode backmost to their car erstwhile an Israeli warplane targeted the media crew, sidesplitting al-Dahdouh and Abu Thuraya, and earnestly injuring al-Qahouji.

“We survived and kept driving due to the fact that we ne'er imagined that journalists documenting the aftermath would themselves go targets,” al-Qahouji told Al Jazeera.

“The paramedics placed maine connected apical of Hamza al-Dahdouh’s assemblage due to the fact that they thought I had already died. Only aboriginal did they realise I was inactive alive.”

Stuck successful Gaza

The blast tore his look from his oculus to a large artery, requiring surgeons to implant titanium plates into his cheeks. His close manus sustained terrible tendon and associated damage, with surgeons amputating 1 digit owed to the severity of his injuries.

Injuries to his spine near him with a perpetual numbness successful his little limbs, making it hard to basal oregon locomotion for agelong periods. More than 2 years later, his scars stay visible, and helium has undergone much than 25 surgeries since then.

Doctors accidental helium needs further reconstructive operations and semipermanent rehabilitation, but that is lone disposable abroad.

Al-Qahouji is trying to header with his information to proceed moving and enactment his family, but helium hopes to question soon truthful that his wellness problems don’t worsen, particularly successful his manus and little jaw [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

He is present torn betwixt a volition to proceed documenting Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza and seeking specialised aesculapian attraction overseas to end this persistent pain.

In a worn-out flat helium has rented since his archetypal location was destroyed successful an Israeli bombing successful November 2023, al-Qahouji says he’s torn betwixt continuing to papers Israel’s genocidal warfare and leaving Gaza for life-changing surgery.

“I privation to enactment again. It’s my lone root of income, but my assemblage doesn’t let maine to bash what I utilized to,” helium said.

“My injuries person taken distant astir 90 percent of my quality to work. Today, my imagination is simple: to person attraction and instrumentality to the tract wherever I spent years documenting different people’s stories.”

Evacuations now

Members of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) held a sit-in astatine their office successful Gaza City connected Wednesday, calling for the aesculapian evacuation of injured and sick journalists from Gaza.

The party, including dozens of injured journalists, held photos of immoderate of the 263 media workers killed by Israel during the war.

Ahed Farwana, secretary-general of the PJS, says much than 40 Palestinian journalists are presently surviving with superior war-related injuries oregon aesculapian conditions that necessitate attraction lone disposable extracurricular Gaza.

The syndicate has submitted aesculapian files and documentation to planetary organisations, urging them to facilitate the journalists’ evacuation and warrant their close to instrumentality erstwhile their attraction is completed.

“The close to aesculapian attraction is simply a basal quality right. It should ne'er beryllium denied due to the fact that of war, siege oregon question restrictions,” Farwana said.

The PJS has announced a bid of sit-ins and solidarity stands with wounded and sick journalists, calling for their evacuation for attraction astatine the earliest accidental [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

The syndicate holds Israel liable for preventing injured journalists from leaving Gaza but is besides captious of planetary organisations for failing to bash much than issuing “statements of concern”.

“The journalists documented this warfare from its archetypal day, often astatine tremendous idiosyncratic risk,” Farwana says. “Today, galore of them are nary longer asking for thing but the accidental to survive.”

For photojournalist Moaz al-Salhi, 34, attending the protestation was a profoundly idiosyncratic experience, but helium inactive had to swallow respective painkillers to enactment connected his feet.

“I privation to combat for my rights. I won’t enactment waiting for death,” helium says quietly. “Without the medication, I wouldn’t person been capable to stand.”

A beingness successful disease

Al-Salhi was diagnosed with terrible Crohn’s illness successful 2022 and was owed to statesman biologic attraction successful Israel successful October 2023 erstwhile the warfare erupted.

He was near without the attraction helium desperately needs and stuck successful a rhythm of repeated aesculapian emergencies.

Al-Salhi scrolls done his telephone and shows photographs and aesculapian reports documenting his repeated infirmary admissions since then.

Almost each week, his information deteriorates to the constituent helium loses consciousness and helium is rushed again to hospital.

“I support trying to defy the illness truthful I tin proceed working, but each clip I deliberation I’m getting better, I illness again,” helium said.

Moaz Al-Salhi, 34, works arsenic a photojournalist and has suffered from Crohn’s illness since earlier the war. His information has worsened successful stages during the warfare owed to his inability to question for attraction [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

He present carries medicine on with his camera instrumentality arsenic helium goes connected assignments, but sometimes these roles are reversed, and helium is 1 of the victims successful this story.

“There were days erstwhile I covered stories with an IV cannula inactive successful my hand. I was exhausted, but I wanted to support telling people’s stories,” helium said. “Now, I person go the story. I’m the 1 who needs treatment.”

The illness has taken a disposable toll. He has mislaid important value and says his assemblage grows weaker aft each relapse.

His top fear, and that of his family, is that his information volition abruptly go irreversible if helium remains trapped wrong Gaza without entree to specialised care.

“My household is terrified that 1 time my assemblage simply won’t beryllium capable to instrumentality immoderate more,” the begetter of 2 says. “I don’t privation to scope that stage.”

Escaping Gaza

Leaving Gaza is present indispensable to forestall al-Salhi’s assemblage from wholly collapsing.

“I don’t privation thing extraordinary,” helium says. “I conscionable privation the accidental to person treatment, instrumentality to my household and spell backmost to doing the enactment I love.”

Sadly, for al-Salhi and different injured oregon critically sick patients successful Gaza, determination are barriers for him to transverse to entree life-saving attraction abroad.

Israel has imposed a crippling siege connected Gaza, restricting entree successful and out, leaving those successful request of urgent aesculapian attraction stuck wrong the strip.

At the aforesaid time, Israel’s systematic demolition of healthcare facilities has near galore with aesculapian conditions that mightiness usually beryllium treated successful Gaza, helpless.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), much than 18,500 patients successful Gaza presently necessitate urgent aesculapian evacuation for specialised attraction that is unavailable locally.

Since the commencement of the war, lone a fraction of those successful request person been capable to permission done a constricted aesculapian evacuation mechanism. Thousands much stay connected the waiting list.

The Rafah crossing – the main way for patients seeking attraction overseas retired of Gaza – has been lone partially and periodically opened by Israel to let tiny numbers of sick Palestinians and their companions to permission for attraction successful Egypt oregon different countries.

Aid agencies person repeatedly warned that restrictions connected question person delayed entree to indispensable attraction for patients with superior injuries, chronic illnesses and conditions requiring specialised attraction unavailable successful Gaza.