Motaz Azaiza has witnessed the horrors of war. Now he’s trying to restore his faith in humanity. For 107 days, he was a photojournalist on the front lines of a warzone in his own familiar neighborhoods, documenting the carnage wrought by relentless Israeli airstrikes in such raw and unedited detail that it was impossible to ignore.
Since mainstream news organizations were unable to film inside Gaza, Azaiza, like other Palestinian journalists in the strip, recorded the early days of the conflict.
Over the past two years, more than 68,000 people have been killed, according to local health officials in the enclave, and with over 90% of the residential buildings destroyed, most of the population has been internally displaced.
Azaiza knows that he’s lucky to be alive. “My life is worth more now than if I was dead,” he told CNN earlier this month. “A lot of Gazans got killed. Nobody mentions their names.”
It’s been 21 months since Azaiza escaped with his immediate family to Qatar; he’s now living in New York. He’s been working with aid groups to help the people of Gaza, and says he has raised $60 million and saved numerous lives. He recently launched a foundation to continue fundraising for Palestinians in Gaza, saying it will help to provide food and pastries, tanker trucks of clean water, blankets and shelter. “A candle in the darkness” is how he describes the Motaz Foundation to his Instagram followers, encouraging those in need to personally reach out for help.
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