‘No Censoring, We Are Breaking The Rules’: Belal Khalid, The Palestinian Photographer (image-instagram/belalkh)
Belal Khaled is a Gaza-based photographer who has been documenting the plights and devastations caused by the ongoing war in Palestine. In an interview with Dana Takruri, a senior presenter of AJ+, the photographer talked about his decision to showcase all the photos he captured without censoring.
Belal said that as per the ethics of journalism, it is not acceptable to publish the photos involving blood. But the journalists in Gaza have decided to break all rules in this war to reveal the truth to the world. “I decided to show more details of blood, how their skins burned from missiles. Even if its hard you have to look at it”, he said.
Belal Khaled is a proud photographer from Gaza who calls himself a messenger, revealing the truth from Gaza to the world. His photos of the war have garnered million views across the world. The photos captured were both stunning and haunting at the same time. All his photos which he has captured through his lenses is filled with ample of emotions. Belal himself has said that he had tried to capture the moments of the Palestinian screaming in hope that the world might hear their pain.
Each photograph carried different stories. When Dana asked the story behind a photo of a small girl, with wide-eyes and helpless look on her face, he said that she was a survivor and more than four children of her family has died in the bombardment.
Belal’s camera captured intimate, painful moments of mother’s grief and child’s pain mostly.
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He shared some instances in which he had to put his camera beside and help the civilians trapped under the rubbles. He recollected an instance in which he had to spent four hours to get a helpless soul out who was trapped under the rubble. “For a journalist, the lives of the people is more important than photos”, he said and it was just one instance which they face every single day.
Every single day when Belal captures the photo of each civilian lying lifeless, he imagines himself being the one to be the next. He along with all Palestinians affirms that what’s going on in Gaza is not war but a genocide.
The striking part of the interview was when Dana asked whether he would leave the Gaza city if he gets a chance to. “I was in Doha when the war started. I came to Gaza on October 7. When the war started, I came to Gaza directly,” he replied. Palestinians cannot leave their family nor their land and every single of them dreams to die along with their family, he added. Belal wants the world to known the taste of the occupation and the struggles of Palestinians through the images he captures.
The works of Belal are now being published on Time, The Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera English and The Guardian. He also worked as a senior videographer at TRT Arabic and as photographer in Anadolu Ajansi. Belal photographs are now reuniting families and above all documenting history.
Belal Khaled is one among many journalists in the enclosed besiege of Gaza capturing the soul of Palestinian city. Belal’s Instagram wall once filled with colours of Arabic calligraphy is now filled with blood, ashes, devastation, and pain. All Palestinian journalists documenting the history will always remain as the real heroes of Gaza for ages.
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