From right Abu Obeida, Ashraf al-Qidra, Salama Maarouf and Wael al-Dahdouh (Al Jazeera)
Israel launched the "Iron Swords" aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 2023, <>, in response to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, which was launched at dawn the same day by the Palestinian resistance, led by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
The occupation used the most powerful weapons of the war machine and a variety of methods to inflict harm on civilians, including displacement, starvation and intimidation, and committed horrific massacres in various areas of the Gaza Strip.
During this aggression, faces emerged that began to expose the crimes of the occupation and to convey the message of the victims to the world. These figures ranged from government, medical, media and military officials, united by their quest to be the "voice of Gaza" that Israel seeks to silence.
Among the most prominent of these faces and personalities:
Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida (Al Jazeera)
Abu Obaida
The media spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, is an unidentified "masked" figure.
The man began his duties following the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, appearing in an old film titled "The Qassam Brigades Hospitality of Venice," filmed by Al Jazeera that year, which was delayed until 2014.
However, Abu Obeida gained fame in 2006, when the news of the capture of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was announced that the Palestinian resistance had been captured.
Abu Obeida has become an icon on which the Qassam Brigades relies to deliver its messages with great efficiency and competence, which makes it one of the important advantages that Hamas possesses, and helps it implement its plans and goals.
The observer can observe that his recorded or filmed messages are highly professional and professional. The Qassam Brigades is also keen to give its spokesman great credibility, by ensuring the dissemination of reliable information and avoiding intimidation, as well as by publishing photos and videos that confirm the authenticity of his messages.
Israel feels the great power that the character of "Abu Obeida" gives to Hamas, so it works to destroy it, and began its efforts to "harm" him" since 2014, when it claimed to have revealed his identity, in an attempt to reduce his "symbolism" and limit it to a specific person, called "Hudhaifa al-Kahlout."
With the reappearance of Abu Obeida in the battle of the Al-Aqsa flood with his strong messages, Israel repeated the same narrative and said that it was able to reveal his identity, and also stated that it bombed his house in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
In this regard, the spokesman for the occupation army, Avichai Adraei, posted on his social media accounts at the beginning of the war a picture of a young Palestinian with a caption saying, "Urgent, this is the so-called Hudhaifa Kahlout, who hides behind the nickname Abu Obeida, and he also hides behind his red keffiyeh (..) Hudhaifa Kahlout, you have become exposed. It's time to stop covering up."
Abu Obeida usually ignores the response to the Israeli army's propaganda in this regard.
Ashraf al-Qidra, media spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health (social media)
Ashraf Al , Qudra
With remarkable courage, and without caring about the Israeli tanks that were besieging Shifa Hospital and bombing its buildings, the media spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qudra, continued to echo his voice, recounting the statistics he collects every day on the total Palestinian casualties as a result of the aggression.
After his work moved to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, al-Qudra continued his mission, with the same vigor as before.
Ashraf al-Qidra, born in 1973 in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, is married with four children.
He holds a Bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation from the University of Karachi in Pakistan, and a Master's degree in Management and Policy from the Palestinian University of Jerusalem.
He previously worked as Director of Al-Rahma Center for Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, and Director of Hotel Services at the Ministry.
Al-Qudra has a parallel activity to his government work, where he chairs the Board of Directors of the Future Polytechnic Institute.
Munir Al-Barsh pointed to a wide response to the Ministry of Health's call to medical professionals to volunteer to confront the repercussions of the war (Al Jazeera)
Munir Al , Borsh
During the war, the Director General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Munir al-Barsh, emerged as one of the most important faces fighting the occupation and exposing its crimes, despite the severe dangers it faces, especially during the siege of Shifa Hospital.
After his forced release from recovery, Al-Borsh continued his "medical" struggle, as he went to hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, especially the Indonesian Hospital and Kamal Adwan Hospital, and remained the voice of Gaza warning of the danger of hospitals out of service for the wounded, and the population.
Munir al-Barsh was born in 1971 in Jabalya, northern Gaza Strip, where he received his basic education. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from Iaşi University, Romania, followed by a Master's degree in Health Management and Policy from the Palestinian University of Jerusalem.
Prior to assuming the position of Director General of the Ministry of Health, Al-Borsch held several government positions, including Director General of Pharmacy for 12 years.
Al-Borsh is also famous for his extensive community and charitable activity, as he chairs the Board of Directors of the National Association for Development and Development, is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nama Foundation for Development and Development, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nama College of Science and Technology, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nama Sports Club, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Holy Quran House in Jabalya, and the former Director of the Office of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth.
Al-Barsh is married with 8 children and is fluent in Arabic, Romanian and English.
One of the striking situations of Al-Barsh is the obituary of his nephew, "Anas", who was killed by Israeli shelling, in an interview with Al-Jazeera, where he was surprised by a "martyr" before the start of the interview.
Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of Shifa Hospital, was arrested by the occupation on November 23, 2023 (Al Jazeera)
Muhammad Abu Salmiya
Despite the massive psychological warfare practiced by Israel against Shifa Hospital in Gaza, and the claim that it contains the headquarters of Hamas, its Director General was not intimidated by these methods, refusing the orders of the occupation army to evacuate it.
Until his arrest on November 23, 2023, Abu Salmiya remained "steadfast", despite the siege, the shelling of buildings, and the accumulation of bodies in the hospital yard, conveying to the world through telephone interventions with the media the image of the tragic events experienced by the wounded, sick and displaced people trapped in "Al-Shifa".
Abu Salmiya was born in 1973, in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, and is married with four children.
He studied medicine in Kiev, Ukraine, at Bogomolets National Medical University, specializing in pediatrics, and returned to the Gaza Strip in 1998. He received the Palestinian Board of Pediatrics in 2013.
In 2000, Abu Salmiya worked as a doctor at the European Gaza Hospital, then assumed the position of Medical Director of Al-Nasr Children's Hospital in 2007, in 2015, he took over the management of Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital, and in 2019, he became the director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex.
Abu Salmiya worked on the development and renaissance of Al-Shifa Hospital, where he became able to handle major highly skilled surgeries that had previously been transferred outside the Gaza Strip.
Head of the Government Media Office Salameh Maarouf (Palestinian Press)
Safety Maarouf
Through his daily appearances, Salameh Maarouf, head of the government media office, emerged as the "voice of Gaza", monitoring all the crimes and massacres committed by Israel, in addition to the repercussions of the aggression in all fields.
In an attempt to draw the world's attention to the crimes of the occupation, Maarouf did not hesitate to carry the body of a martyr child during one of his daily press conferences, asking the international community why this child was deprived of his right to life.
Maarouf continued to perform his mission until the occupation army stormed Al-Shifa Hospital and his ground raid in Gaza City, after which he was unable to continue his work.
Maarouf was born in Cairo in 1977, where he received his basic education, and is married with five children. He returned with his family to Gaza in 5, obtaining a bachelor's degree in media from the Islamic University in 1994 and a master's degree from the same university in 1999.
He began his journalistic career as editor of Sahel magazine between 1998 and 1999, then was appointed as an employee in the Ministry of Information in mid-2000.
Maarouf became Director General of the Government Media Office in 2007, and then its President since 2017, and has many union and community activities, as he served on the boards of directors of Al-Resala and Palestine newspapers, and Al-Aqsa Media Network.
Maarouf has a number of researches and studies in the field of media, and has published a book entitled "The Reality of Palestinian Journalists' Access to Information".
Head of the Government Media Office Ismail Al-Thawabteh (Palestinian Press)
Ismail Al , Thawabteh
When the head of the government media office, Salama Maarouf, was absent following the ground incursion into Gaza City, Ismail al-Thawabta, the office's director-general, carried the banner, based in the central governorate.
It monitors all the crimes of the occupation at all levels, human and material, and broadcasts them through a daily message to the world.
Born in 1979 in Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, al-Thawabta is married with five children.
In 2001, he received a bachelor's degree in journalism from the Islamic University of Gaza, and in 2020 a master's degree from the same university.
He began his journalistic career as a correspondent for many different media outlets, and after working in the government media office in 2006, he headed the state-run newspaper "Al-Rai", until he was appointed director general of the office.
Since 2013, he has headed the Youth Charitable Initiative, and has many publications, including a printed book entitled: "Cracked Walls", and a book in print entitled "Bullets Words".
Wael Dahdouh has been working as a correspondent and bureau chief for Al Jazeera in the Gaza Strip since 2004 (Al Jazeera)
Wael Al , Dahdouh
Wael Dahdouh was born in 1970, in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, and has been working as a correspondent for Al-Jazeera satellite channel in the Gaza Strip since 2004, through which he emerged as one of the most important media professionals who report the truth about the horrific crimes taking place during the current war.
Al-Dahdouh tasted his luck from Israeli crimes, by targeting his family and killing 14 of its members, including his wife and two of his children, on October 25, 2023, following an Israeli shelling of a house where they sought refuge in Nuseirat camp.
Despite the great injury, Dahdouh did not stop covering, and his voice remained present to convey through Al-Jazeera to the world the reality of the crimes committed by Israel against civilians in Gaza. He was injured in an Israeli shelling on Friday, December 15, 2023, in which fellow Al Jazeera photographer Samer Abu Daqqa was martyred.
Dahdouh holds a BA in Journalism and Media from the Islamic University of Gaza in 1998 and a Master's degree in Regional Studies from Al-Quds University in 2007.
Dahdouh began his media work as a correspondent for the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds, then a correspondent for the Voice of Palestine from Tehran, as well as for Sahar satellite channel at the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000, and also worked as a correspondent for Al-Arabiya in 2003 and then moved to work as a correspondent and bureau chief of Al-Jazeera in the Gaza Strip since 2004.
The Belgian magazine "Kanak" chose Dahdouh, the journalistic personality of the year 2023, and devoted 6 pages of the annual issue to tell part of Wael's story and his sacrifices to convey the truth.
Under the headline "Journalists Targeted in Gaza", the magazine described Wael al-Dahdouh as "the man who became the focus of news after he was a reporter," after his family was targeted.
Anas Al-Sharif began working for Al-Jazeera satellite channel to cover events in northern Gaza with the outbreak of the "Al-Aqsa flood" (Al-Jazeera)
Anas Alsharif
When the Israeli occupation forces forcibly absent the media from coverage in the northern Gaza Strip, journalist Anas Al-Sharif emerged as carrying the burden of exposing Israel's crimes and massacres against the population, indifferent to the great danger facing him and his family.
It was clear how much inconvenience Al-Sharif caused by Al-Sharif's coverage of the occupation and his disclosure of its crimes, so he was threatened via a phone call and asked to leave the area for the southern Gaza Strip, which he was rejected.
In what appears to be punishment for his media role, the occupation bombed his house on December 11, 2023, which caused the martyrdom of his father, although Al-Sharif continued to perform his media message.
Anas al-Sharif was born in Jabalia camp in December 1996 and is married with a child.
He received a bachelor's degree in radio and television from Al-Aqsa University in Gaza, and began his work as a freelance journalist since 2014, covering events in Gaza City and its north.
In 2018, al-Sharif rose to prominence in covering the March of Return and Breaking the Siege, which were organized near the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, collaborating with press websites and Arab and international news agencies.
In May 2021, he also covered the battle of the "Sword of Jerusalem" waged by the Palestinian resistance against Israel.
During the 2023 Israeli aggression, Sharif began working for Al Jazeera satellite channel to cover events in northern Gaza.
Ismail Al-Ghoul began cooperating with Al-Jazeera in field work to convey the reality of the situation from within with the "Al-Aqsa Flood" (Al-Jazeera)
Ismail Al , Ghoul
Like his predecessor, Anas al-Sharif, journalist Ismail al-Ghoul filled a large void caused by the practices of the occupation forces in Gaza City, which was almost devoid of local and international media.
Despite the imminent dangers, and while people were looking for ways to escape from the occupation shells, Al-Ghoul was searching for information in the mouths of "death", documenting the event through his simple means, and sending it to Al-Jazeera satellite channel to broadcast it to the world.
Al-Ghoul was born in 1997 in Shati refugee camp, north of Gaza City. He received a bachelor's degree in journalism from the Islamic University and began his career in the field of written journalism as a correspondent for the local newspapers Al-Resala and Palestine.
Al-Ghoul then turned to television work through his work with several media production companies in Gaza.
With the outbreak of the "Al-Aqsa flood", he began cooperating with the Al-Jazeera satellite channel in reporting news through telephone interventions, before starting to prepare television reports.
Source : Al Jazeera