Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters cameraman who was killed Monday at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, had spent months capturing the daily hardships of civilians while living in a makeshift tent and struggling to provide for his family.
An experienced and well-respected journalist, Masri was known among Gaza’s reporting community for his optimism.
“Tomorrow will be better,” he often said, even as conditions in the Strip deteriorated, according to Mohamed Salem, a senior visuals journalist who had worked with Masri since 2003.
“His optimism and smiles made him a pleasure to work with,” Salem said.
Born and raised in Khan Younis, he earned a diploma in journalism before starting work as a freelancer in 1998, including for the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation.
“This was Hussam’s role in the media - to deliver the truth to the outlets,” his brother, Ezzeldin al-Masri, said.
Masri began working for Reuters in May 2024, covering displacement camps and humanitarian aid deliveries near the Rafah border. Since returning to Khan Younis, he managed the live feed from Nasser Hospital, providing real-time visuals of Gaza to Reuters clients worldwide.
“Hussam has done this gruelling task day in and day out for months, mainly from Nasser Hospital but also from Rafah when the story merited it,” said Labib Nasir, Reuters visual editor for the Middle East and North Africa.
He reported extensively on southern Gaza, including stories on malnutrition in areas now officially experiencing famine. His last report, filmed Saturday, showed families mourning relatives, including children, killed in Israeli strikes that have claimed at least 62,000 Palestinian lives in the conflict.
Masri chose Nasser Hospital for its relative safety, Salem said.
His body was recovered alongside his camera in an external stairwell at Nasser Hospital, from where he had been broadcasting across Khan Younis when the Israeli strike hit. A second blast minutes later killed at least 19 people, including rescue workers and four journalists from outlets including the Associated Press and Al Jazeera.
Reuters photographer Hatem Khaled was injured in the second strike.
In their final conversation, Masri spoke of the difficulty of daily life and the struggle to find food in Gaza. Hours later, his body was photographed on a stretcher by Reuters.
The 49-year-old leaves behind his wife, Samahar and their four children.
Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni said, “Hussam was deeply devoted to telling the story of Gaza to the world. He was strong, steady and courageous in the most challenging of circumstances. His loss is deeply felt by all of those in this newsroom who worked with him.”
Israel’s military told Reuters that journalists were not a target of the strike. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel deeply regretted what he called a “tragic mishap.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists said the strikes bring the total number of Palestinian journalists killed during the conflict to 189 and called for the international community to hold Israel accountable.
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt announ...
Cameroon's security forces killed 48 civilians while responding to protests against the re-election of President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest sitti...
South Korea's intelligence agency believes there is a strong possibility that North Korea and the United States will hold a summit, with the meeting p...
Mexico has expressed regret over Peru’s decision to sever diplomatic relations after the Mexican government granted asylum to former Peruvian Prime ...
Brussels Airport is closed after the reported sighting of a drone, said the Belgian air traffic control service and a spokeswoman for the airport....
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday during a press briefing.
Cameroon's security forces killed 48 civilians while responding to protests against the re-election of President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest sitting leader, according to data shared with Reuters on Tuesday by two U.N. sources.
South Korea's intelligence agency believes there is a strong possibility that North Korea and the United States will hold a summit, with the meeting potentially taking place after March, a lawmaker has said.
Mexico has expressed regret over Peru’s decision to sever diplomatic relations after the Mexican government granted asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chavez.
Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.
At least 37 people have died and five are missing after devastating floods and landslides hit central Vietnam, officials said Monday, as a new typhoon threatens to worsen the disaster.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not believe the United States is going to war with Venezuela despite growing tensions, though he suggested President Nicolás Maduro’s time in power may be nearing its end.
Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan vowed on Monday to move on from deadly protests set off by last week's disputed election as she was sworn into office for her first elected term.
The eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk has emerged as a critical point in Russia’s campaign to seize the remaining Ukrainian-held parts of Donetsk, and its fate could shape the course of the conflict in the region.
Brussels Airport is closed after the reported sighting of a drone, said the Belgian air traffic control service and a spokeswoman for the airport on Tuesday (November 4)
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday during a press briefing.
Cameroon's security forces killed 48 civilians while responding to protests against the re-election of President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest sitting leader, according to data shared with Reuters on Tuesday by two U.N. sources.
South Korea's intelligence agency believes there is a strong possibility that North Korea and the United States will hold a summit, with the meeting potentially taking place after March, a lawmaker has said.
Mexico has expressed regret over Peru’s decision to sever diplomatic relations after the Mexican government granted asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chavez.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment