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On June 14, Ali Jadallah, a photographer for the Anadolu Agency, was in Deir al Balah, a city in the central Gaza Strip, when an explosion shattered the silence. Arriving on the scene before ambulances and civil defense teams, Jadallah witnessed the immediate aftermath of an Israeli strike. His camera captured civilians desperately helping one another out of the rubble, their faces etched with panic and fear.
“Capturing the photo just minutes after the event was far from easy,” Jadallah recalls. “Thick smoke filled the air, people were in a state of panic, and screams echoed all around.” The image Jadallah captured tells a powerful story—one of human survival amidst the rubble of war. Yet, for the photographer, the experience of witnessing such devastation, even after more than a year of conflict, never becomes any easier.
“I’ve never grown used to witnessing such devastation, and I doubt I ever will. No one can truly accept the sight of death, destruction, and blood,” he admits. “Each time I photograph the injured, the dead, and the aftermath of destruction, or inhale the acrid smoke still lingering after an attack, I am flooded with a familiar, haunting feeling.” This feeling is deeply personal for Jadallah. He recalls the traumatic memory of when his own family’s home was bombed, an event that killed them and has become a recurring nightmare. “I relive it with every similar scene I witness,” he says. “It’s a pain I cannot escape, made worse by seeing others endure the same agony.”
Despite the emotional toll, Jadallah continues his work, documenting the resilience of the people of Gaza. “Perhaps the raw power of this photograph lies in the fact that I was there in those first critical moments—the moments of shock, chaos, and the desperate search for signs of life,” he reflects. This image is not only a testament to the tragedy of war but also to the humanity that persists in its wake, as people strive to survive and help one another amid the wreckage.
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