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December 13, 2023 – Palestine/Israel –
As the war in Gaza continues to take a devastating toll, the Coalition for Women in Journalism has reported the deaths of eleven Palestinian women journalists, killed by Israeli airstrikes since the conflict began on October 7, 2023. Among the most recent victims are Nermin Qawwas and Hanan Ayyad, both young reporters who died in December while trying to live, work, and document the destruction around them.
Nermin Qawwas, 28, a trainee journalist for Russia Today, was killed when an Israeli airstrike hit her family’s home in Gaza City. Hanan Ayyad, a 26-year-old freelance digital journalist, died alongside her husband and two children when their house in Gaza’s old city was struck. Their deaths occurred during what has been called the deadliest month for Palestinian women journalists since the war began—six of the eleven were killed in December alone.
These women were not combatants. They were storytellers, capturing the suffering of civilians, sharing images from destroyed neighborhoods, and giving voice to the unheard. Their killings highlight not only the indiscriminate nature of the bombardment but also the increasing risks faced by journalists—especially women—who report from the frontlines without protection, support, or escape.
The Coalition for Women in Journalism and other press freedom groups have called for an independent international investigation into these killings. They are urging the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, and global human rights bodies to treat these deaths not as collateral damage, but as potential war crimes targeting media workers.
Their deaths also spotlight a broader erasure: the silencing of women’s perspectives in war. In Gaza, women journalists not only report on the conflict, they live it—enduring siege, displacement, and loss alongside the people they cover.
Qawwas, Ayyad, and the nine others killed represent more than names on a list. They were voices of courage in a war of overwhelming noise. Their absence leaves a void in the story of Gaza—a story the world desperately needs to hear. Without justice and protection, more will be silenced before their stories are told.
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