Motaz Azaiza is representing ‘the voice of Gaza’ with his Time’s most influential people list inclusion
Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2024 by Time magazine for acting as the “world’s eyes and ears” during the ongoing Israeli military offensive that has decimated the Gaza Strip.
The list has highlighted the influential people under six categories: leaders, pioneers, artists, icons, innovators and titans.
The photographer took to his Instagram account to emphasise that the honour was not about him but about “what Motaz represents”.
“He represents the voice of Gaza people who got killed, murdered, bombed and displaced by [the] Israeli occupation,” he wrote, sharing a picture of himself posted by Time magazine.
Azaiza also highlighted how he was dubbed “the Palestinian photographer”, stating that he was blessed to share his country’s name wherever he went and whatever he achieved.
“For those who don’t recognise Palestine as a state, or for those who claims that it’s their land. Palestine gonna be free one day from Zionists and occupation.”
“Everyone does his part, and my part is not done yet,” the photojournalist said.
At least 97 journalists and media workers, the majority being Palestinian at 92, have been killed since Israel began its attacks on the Gaza Strip, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports.
“Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict during the Israeli ground assault, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, supply shortages and extensive power outages,” the CPJ notes.
Amid all this, Azaiza extensively documented the impact of the fighting, Israeli aggression and wide-scale destruction of Gaza for over 100 days.
The freelance photographer, who was forced onto the frontlines by the horrors of the conflict as most foreign reporters were denied access to Gaza, gained global attention when he recorded himself wearing a press vest and helmet to report on the conditions during the fighting in Israel.
His coverage often took the form of raw, unfiltered videos about injured children or people crushed under rubble in the aftermath of Israeli aggression.
Azaiza’s Instagram account was a transition of how a city went from lights and joy to death, grief and loss.
He evacuated Gaza in January and is now in Doha, Qatar.
Time said that “for 108 days, Motaz Azaiza acted as the world’s eyes and ears in his native Gaza. Armed with a camera and a flak jacket marked ‘press’, the 25-year-old Palestinian photographer spent nearly four months documenting life under Israeli bombardment.”
It said that his photographs offered a glimpse into Gaza that “few in the international press … could rival”, adding that he did so at “great risk”.
The magazine said that since his evacuation, Azaiza had moved to raising awareness of the crisis and calling for international intervention.
“What is happening in Gaza is not content for you,” he was quoted as saying by the magazine. “We are not telling you what is happening … for your likes or views or shares. No, we are waiting for you to act. We need to stop this war.”
Azaiza was nominated by Yasmeen Serhan, a journalist and a Time magazine staff writer. Other prominent names on the list include singer Dua Lipa, animator Hayao Miyazaki, footballer Patrick Mahomes, Formula One driver Max Verstappen and Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.