"I didn't want Israel to identify them": The Gaza photographer reveals what he documented on October 7
Gaza photographer Motez Azaiza reveals in an interview that he documented beaten Israeli hostages on October 7 but refrained from publishing the videos for fear Israel would use them to identify and eliminate those involved. He sharply criticizes Hamas, the failure of weapons to protect Gaza residents, and the mechanism of silencing journalists in the Strip.
Gaza photographer Motez Azaiza, who left Gaza about four months after the war began and now lives in Qatar, revealed in an interview that he documented beaten Israeli hostages on October 7, 2023. According to him, he saw a vehicle of the Al-Qassam Brigades carrying Israeli captives, and people who got out of the vehicle beat them. He filmed the incident but chose not to publish the videos, fearing Israel would use them to identify and eliminate those involved. Azaiza leveled unprecedented criticism at Hamas, claiming the organization's weapons have not protected any resident of Gaza since October 7. He attacked Hamas leadership for its refusal to agree to a ceasefire and asked why they did not agree to lay down their arms as early as October 11, 2023, before tens of thousands were killed. The photographer also described Hamas's mechanism for silencing journalists, through a WhatsApp group called 'Smart' managed by a senior official in the organization's propaganda apparatus, where journalists who deviate from the narrative are attacked. He admitted to the heavy emotional toll he is paying, describing a burning trauma and a desire to die, and called Gaza 'the most toxic place in the world.'