Tamer Hassan al-Shafei and his family break their Ramadan fast in the remains of their home in Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip. Food shortages meant only basics were served instead of the usual spread.
In 2025, civilians in Gaza endured starvation, famine, and relentless bombardment as the death toll surpassed 75,000 people and Israeli authorities severely restricted the flow of humanitarian aid. A fragile ceasefire went into effect in October, allowing some aid to enter Gaza, but Israeli airstrikes continued and the humanitarian situation remains critical. Palestinian journalists – living through the reality they document – are the world’s few witnesses to what an independent United Nations Human Rights Commission inquiry has concluded is a genocide. Israel disputes this. The photographer worked under immense danger, driven by a refusal to let the world turn away. “Even when everything around me told me to stop, I couldn't – silence would mean surrender.”
