Motaz Azaiza: GQ Middle East’s Man Of The Year 2023 (Image:Instagram/MotazAzaiza)
The Palestinian journalist Motaz Azaiza crowned as the GQ Middle East’s Man of the Year 2023 on Thursday. He is one among the very few Palestinian journalists reporting from the war-torn Gaza Strip and propagating the real-time face of the deteriorated humanitarian conditions of the region.
His images are simply raw and requires minimum courage to scroll on. Before the commencement of the ongoing Israel-Palestine war, he was just another photographer but now the world-known ‘story-teller’, a documentarian of the heart-wrenching life of the people of Gaza, who were forced to address the Israeli occupation empty-handed.
The GQ Middle East on declaring Motaz Azaiza as their Man of the Year said that it was his name that came to the forefront while listing the candidates. According to them, he became a global figure in the recent weeks, and became an “embodiment of hope for the people of Gaza and for the rest of us around the world”.
The Middle East magazine praised his works as they entitled the power of digital activism, and his “humanity is an important reminder that bravery appears in many forms”. “Sometimes we choose it, other times it chooses us, and in the case of Azaiza, choice wasn’t even an option”, added the magazine.
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Prior to the war, which began on October 7, Motaz Azaiza’s Instagram account had only a few thousand followers but now above fifteen million people around the world are eagerly tracking the photojournalist to get the updates and highlights of the war – the real condition of the Gaza Strip where millions have been displaced and thousands murdered mercifully.
The GQ Middle East describes him as a window to the world and has “amassed millions who watch and pray with his every move”. According to the magazine, what he captured had “captured us and galvanizes the rest of us to be bold in the face of opposition”. They praised Motaz Azaiza’s dedication and said his fearlessness remains unmatched. Motaz Azaiza is based in Gaza and also works for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees.
