The Ongoing Conflict: A Visual Chronicle

In the early hours of October 7, 2023, Hamas militants launched a brutal air and ground assault in Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. Within hours, Israel struck back and mounted an all-out war against Hamas that has claimed more than 40,000 Palestinian lives in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

Following over three decades of Israeli restrictions on the flow of both people and goods into and out of Gaza, the Palestinian population was already suffering from chronic shortages of essential resources such as food, clean water, electricity, medicine, and housing. Consequently, many lived in refugee camps, grappling with generations of displacement.

Visual Documentation of Human Tragedy

Thousands of images have been captured since October 7, detailing the harrowing consequences of the conflict. These images include:

• Dead bodies strewn on the ground, lying side by side near a bus stop in Israel.
• Stunned Palestinian children, clutching each other and running for cover as rockets stream above them.
• An Israeli woman running for safety as sirens blare and smoke billows in the background.
• Young girls in Gaza surveying what’s left of their destroyed and smoldering homes.

The Perils of Reporting

Photographers have risked their lives to document these events and showcase the dire reality faced by those in the affected areas. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 116 journalists and media workers have been killed since the war began, marking this period as the deadliest for journalists since the organization started tracking casualties in 1992. Among those, 111 were Palestinian, two were Israeli, and three were Lebanese.

Insights from Veteran Photojournalists

Ziv Koren, a prominent photojournalist with over 30 years of experience, was awakened on October 7 by the distressing sound of emergency sirens in Israel. He instinctively rushed out of his home in Tel Aviv to document the unfolding tragedy. Still grappling with the enormity of the situation, he was taken aback by the devastation caused by the militants.

Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf emphasized the emotional toll of capturing such heartbreaking images, stating, “Taking pictures of corpses hurts me most. These are human beings, not just bags of flesh, blood, and bones.” She highlighted that the bodies of all ages, from newborns to grandparents, are victims of a conflict that continuously erodes hope.

The Unbearable Weight of Loss

On the eve of the anniversary of this conflict with no end in sight, Koren articulated his commitment to photography as a powerful means of storytelling. “I still go out every day—19 hours each day. This is for future generations to see that these are visual documents,” he noted, having taken nearly 350,000 images since the outbreak of conflict, which are crucial for capturing history as it unfolds.

Editor’s note: This gallery contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.