Media Confidential

‘Reporting from a horror movie’: Motaz Azaiza and Youmna El Sayed

Palestinian photojournalist Motaz and reporter Youmna covered atrocities in their own streets, affecting their own families. Speaking to Alan and Lionel, they challenge the west’s muted response to Israel’s attack on Gaza

May 16, 2024
article header image

No foreign journalists are allowed into Gaza, so the rest of the world relies on those living in area to relay what is happening on the ground—dedicated and determined reporters who have made sure that no-one can look away. 

For months, photojournalist Motaz Azaiza and Al Jazeera reporter Youmna El Sayed were among those reporting from Gaza. 

Motaz has captured some of the most brutal, honest images of the war, refusing to censor even the most harrowing of shots. His aim? To show the world what western media couldn’t. 

Youmna is a journalist for Al Jazeera English in Gaza, who witnessed shocking events during her work—ones that that will never leave her. “The only thing that keeps me standing is the suffering I’m seeing,” she says. 

For this week’s podcast, they join Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber in London, at the “Truth Tellers” investigative journalism summit hosted in the memory of the great newspaper editor, Sir Harry Evans.

A transcript will be available shortly.