Every time Israel kills a Palestinian journalist, we lose a piece of our truth: Opinion

Outside the home of Hussam al-Masri, a Palestinian photojournalist killed by Israel this week, mourners gathered to offer condolences.

But no dates were passed around, nor was there the traditional smell of thick coffee being poured into small cups for mourners outside his family home in western Khan Younis. In Gaza, where Israel is imposing a policy of forced starvation, coffee now costs $50 an ounce.

Before Hussam was killed on Monday alongside four other journalists, including Middle East Eye correspondents Mohamed Salama and Ahmed Abu Aziz, his home had already been destroyed by Israeli attacks. Neighbours who came here to mourn sat on slabs of stone arranged in a circle around the torn tarpaulins where his family, stunned and grieving, huddled for shelter.

Hussam’s wife Samaher - who suffers from a severe skin disease that has been getting worse amid the lack of treatment in besieged Gaza, to the point where she can barely move - has now lost her husband, who was her primary support system. As mourners gathered at their home, their 15-year-old son, Ahmad, sat in silence. Their 18-year-old daughter, Shatha, remembered that their dad would have turned 50 next year.

“Photography had been his passion for 20 years, and he worked for Palestine TV and Reuters because he always wanted the world to see what was happening here in Gaza,” Shatha told MEE. “Now they killed him because he showed the world.”

In our camp, Hussam was no stranger. He was kin, married to our neighbour’s daughter. As my cousin Mohammed put it: “He is one of us. He was not only our neighbour and our friend, but our voice. His only crime was documenting genocide.”

Israel’s double-tap strike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza on Monday killed 21 people, including the five journalists. The first missile struck around 11am local time (09:00 BST), as doctors were doing their morning rounds. Minutes later, after rescuers had rushed to the scene, Israel forces hit again.