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‘A Single Palestinian More Important Than a Thousand Israelis,’ Says Prominent Gaza Journalist
Motaz Azaiza. Photo: Screenshot
Motaz Azaiza, a leading Gazan photojournalist and activist boasting 17.2 million followers on Instagram, recently posted a story sharing his opinion that a single Palestinian life is “more important than a thousand Israelis.”
Azaiza, a 25-year-old independent photographer raised in the Deir al-Balah refugee camp, has become one of the most globally recognizable spokespeople for Gazans amid the current Israel-Hamas war and perhaps the most prominent of a number of local Gazan journalists claiming to accurately report events on the ground.
“I’m in a fight with everyone who doesn’t care about the lives of Palestinians. For me, the lives of Palestinians are more precious and way more important than the lives of Israelis (the ones who occupy Palestine),” Azaiza posted on Jan. 19.
“Even sometimes I fight with Palestinians who just want to sacrifice their lives for the sake of sacrifice,” he continued. “Our lives mean the most [in Arabic: our lives are the most precious thing we have]. Our souls are precious. A single Palestinian is worth more than a thousand Israelis. Thank you.”
Azaiza’s content, which frequently features graphic images, is high-quality, bilingual in Arabic and English, carefully edited and polished, and designed to produce sympathy from viewers with special focus on the human cost of the war among Gaza’s population.
To supporters of the Palestinian cause, Azaiza represents a “beacon of resistance” in photographing the dead and wounded, along with his livestreams amid unfolding airstrikes that garner thousands of viewers. Azaiza’s photo of a girl under rubble was named one of Time‘s Top 10 Photos of 2023. He was also nominated as GQ Middle East’s Man of the Year 2023, and was among those nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, together with fellow Gazan journalists Bissan Owda, Wael Dahdouh, and Hind Khoudary (a documented collaborator of Hamas).
Azaiza’s image as an intrepid civilian reporter has elevated him to the status of journalistic hero for pro-Palestinian activists. However, critics have questioned his integrity and ultimate motives — particularly after he chose to leave Gaza in January 2024 (with some lack of clarity on how and why he was allowed to leave via the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt), when he was welcomed with open arms by Qatar via a military plane. He currently resides in Qatar.
Aziza has spent much of 2024 on a speaking tour in the United States, where he has met with US Rep. Rashida Tlaib, an outspoken critic of Israel, and visited the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia University to praise demonstrators.
Azaiza has come under fire for reposting footage shot by Hamas terrorists during their October 2023 attack in southern Israel, which he praised before deleting the post. On Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas invasion, he posted to social media using the hashtag #PalestineGenocide attached to a video of Hamas fighters holding Israelis hostages. The post came during the Hamas assault, before the onset of Israel’s response the following day.
The Gaza journalist also publicly mourned he deaths of Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, the latter of whom masterminded the Oct. 7 massacre.
The post ‘A Single Palestinian More Important Than a Thousand Israelis,’ Says Prominent Gaza Journalist first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
The post Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
The post Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
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