"I Left With Broken Heart And Eyes Filled With Tears": Motaz Azaiza On Leaving Gaza
Palestinian Photojournalist Motaz Azaiza evacuated Gaza yesterday to Qatar. The young journalist said he left Gaza with “broken heart and eyes filled with tears”. On his X “formerly twitter) account, Azaiza said he left because there was “no other option after 108 days of continuous massacres against us. It’s time to move somewhere else so I can do more work and I pray that I can be a reason to stop this war and help rebuild Gaza again”.
He urged that there is no time to rest and keep calling for ceasefire.
I left Gaza with a broken heart and eyes filled with tears.
There was no other option after 108 days of continuous massacres against us.
It’s time to move somewhere else so I can do more work and I pray that I can be a reason to stop this war and help rebuild Gaza again.
I’ve… pic.twitter.com/kg3FwTi38d— MoTaz (@azaizamotaz9) January 24, 2024
In a rather emotional video Azaiza shared the news of his departure from Gaza, for which he apologised and said he hopes to come back to rebuilt Gaza again. In the video he said “this is the last time you will see me in this heavy, stinky vest”, pointing to his journalist vest.
So,
I had to evacuate for a lot of reasons you all know some of it but not all of it.
Thank you all
Pray for Gaza. pic.twitter.com/sIqULe9d5V
— MoTaz (@azaizamotaz9) January 23, 2024
While leaving his beloved homeland, Azaiza kept documenting his journey outside the border where he showed hundreds of aid truck “all over the road on the Egyptian side waiting to be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip”.
The aid trucks all over the road on the Egyptian side waiting to be to allowed to enter the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/FL0PVcf6CK
— MoTaz (@azaizamotaz9) January 23, 2024
While being taken to Qatar in a military plane, which is a first experience for the Gaza journalist, he shared a little note for his lost friend Mustafa, who used to help him with his drone visuals. His note which was in his mother tongue Arabic read, “where are you Mustafa? You see, we have reached the clouds brother, but this time it not a drone, may God have mercy on you”.
First video outside of Gaza heading to Qatar. pic.twitter.com/0CAk6CCsjF
— MoTaz (@azaizamotaz9) January 23, 2024
Mustafa was one among several close friends who were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Motaz Azaiza asked should he be happy about leaving his war battered Palestinian land.
Azaiza was welcomed to Al Jazeera for an interview in less than 24 hours of his landing in Qatar, in which he shared how different and ferocious was this war from the previous ones, in which he lost 15 members of his family.
“فقدت كل الملامح الجميلة في #غزة“.. معتز عزايزة motaz_azaiza يصف الأوضاع المأساوية في القطاع#الجزيرة_مباشر #غزة_لحظة_بلحظة pic.twitter.com/TrNuFGNFui
— الجزيرة مباشر (@ajmubasher) January 23, 2024
Motaz Azaiza has been documenting himself and his homeland Gaza since day one of the bloody Israel-Hamas war. His visuals played a key role in letting the outside world witness the horrors of Israel”s genocidal war on Gaza.
