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Gaza City – Every morning, photographer Mohammed al-Qahouji tries to piece together the life that the war almost took from him.
The 40-year-old freelance photographer says returning to journalism has been a physical as well as a mental challenge, with every job interrupted by pain that runs through his jaw, hand and back.
He has had this pain since he survived the Israeli plane crash on January 7, 2024, when he reported on the recovery of bodies in southern Gaza by Al Jazeera’s Hamza al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Abu Thuraya.
They were returning to their car when an Israeli warplane targeted the group of journalists, killing al-Dahdouh and Abu Thuraya, and seriously injuring al-Qahouji.
“We survived and drove because we never thought that the journalists covering what happened could be a target,” al-Qahouji told Al Jazeera.
“The doctors put me on top of Hamza al-Dahdouh’s body because they thought I was already dead, but then they realized I was still alive.”
He has lived in Gaza
The blast ripped open his face from the eye to the major artery, prompting doctors to insert titanium plates into his cheeks. His right hand suffered severe tendon and bone damage, and surgeons amputated one finger due to the severity of the injury.
His back injury left him with permanent numbness in his lower legs, making it difficult to stand or walk for long periods of time. More than two years later, her scars are still visible, and she has had more than 25 surgeries since then.
Doctors say that they need some reconstructive surgery and long-term rehabilitation, but this is only available abroad.
He is now torn between wanting to continue documenting Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and seeking specialized medical treatment abroad to relieve the chronic pain.
In the tired apartment he’s been renting since his home was destroyed by an Israeli bomb in November 2023, al-Qahouji says he’s torn between continuing to write about Israel’s murderous war and leaving Gaza for life-changing surgery.
He said: “I want to work again because it is the only way to earn money, but my body does not allow me to do what I used to do.”
“My injury has taken away about 90 percent of my ability to work.
Escape now
Members of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) occupied their headquarters in Gaza City on Wednesday, calling for injured and sick journalists to leave Gaza.
The party, including many injured journalists, held photographs of some of the 263 journalists killed by Israel in the war.
Ahed Farwana, the general secretary of PJS, says that more than 40 Palestinian journalists are currently suffering from serious injuries from the war or diseases that require treatment outside of Gaza.
The organization has handed over files and medical documents to international organizations, urging them to help the journalists be transferred and give them the right to return after receiving treatment.
“The right to medical care is a human right, it should not be denied because of war, siege or restriction of movement,” said Farwana.
The organization considers Israel to be responsible for preventing injured journalists from leaving Gaza and criticizes international organizations for failing to do more than just issue “worrying statements”.
“Journalists have covered the war since its first day, often at the risk of their own lives,” says Farwana. “Today, most of them are asking for nothing but the chance to live.”
For photojournalist Moaz al-Salhi, 34, attending the protest was a painful experience, but he still had to take several painkillers to keep him awake.
“I want to fight for my freedom, I will not wait for death,” he says quietly. Without medicine, I could not stand.
Life in sickness
Al-Salhi was diagnosed with severe Crohn’s disease in 2022 and was due to begin treatment in Israel in October 2023 when the war broke out.
He was left without the help he so desperately needed and became suddenly ill.
Al-Salhi looks at his phone and shows photos and medical reports showing that he has received repeated hospitalizations since then.
Almost every week, his condition worsens to the point of coma and he is rushed to the hospital again.
“I try to fight the disease to continue working, but every time I think I’m getting better, I faint again,” he said.
Now he carries the medicine along with his camera equipment when he goes to work, but sometimes these roles are reversed, and he is one of the victims in this story.
He said: “Some days I used to talk with an IV cannula in my hand. Now, I’m the talk, I need help.”
The disease has worsened. He has lost a lot of weight and says that his body is weak when he starts again.
His greatest danger, and that of his family, is that his situation will suddenly become irreversible if he is trapped inside Gaza without access to special assistance.
“Our family is afraid that one day my body will not be able to get sick anymore,” said the father of two children. “I don’t want to get to that point.”
Escape from Gaza
Leaving Gaza now is essential so that al-Salhi’s body does not fall completely.
He said: “I don’t want anything out of the ordinary. I just want a chance to get treatment, go back to my family and go back to work that I love.”
Sadly, for al-Salhi and other injured or critically ill patients in Gaza, there are barriers to crossing to receive life-saving treatment abroad.
Israel has erected a paralyzing fence in Gaza, restricting entry and exit, leaving those in need of medical assistance stranded inside the line.
At the same time, the systematic destruction of Israeli hospitals has left many with medical facilities that can often be treated in Gaza, without help.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 18,500 patients in Gaza are currently in need of urgent medical evacuation to receive specialized treatment that is not available locally.
Since the start of the war, only a few of those in need have left through the limited medical system. Thousands more are still on the waiting list.
The Rafah crossing – the main route for sick people seeking treatment outside Gaza – has been partially and periodically opened by Israel to allow a small number of sick Palestinians and their friends to go to Egypt or other countries for treatment.
Aid agencies have repeatedly warned that travel restrictions have delayed access to essential care for patients with serious injuries, chronic illnesses and conditions requiring specialized care that are not available in Gaza.
