If you’ve been following the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts in Gaza in the past decade at all, you’ve probably seen Hatem Moussa’s photos. He’s been based in the Gaza City with the Associated Press since 1998, capturing the destruction spread by the wars between Israeli military and various militant groups in Gaza.
As always though, I made sure to include Moussa’s pictures of peace in Gaza too. That’s right—as is always good to remember, most people in Gaza live their lives peacefully.
You may have noticed many of the pictures of Gazans’ daily life share a common trait: The silhouettes. Moussa seems to really indulge this art of sunset photography and manages to impress me repeatedly. Children flying kites? Classic. Rearing horse on a beach during sunset? Outright spectacular. And the boy on a donkey with a flock of sheep? It just epitomizes peace. I’m usually trying to be a bit modest with these kinds of photos. I guess I’m a little cautious people may get tired of them. So far, I think, I have succeeded at least with myself, as a good silhouette shot still catches my attention quite easily. And that is, in turn, one of the reasons I decided to feature Hatem Moussa today.
In recognition of his work, Moussa won the special jury prize at the Days Japan International Photo Journalism Awards in 2013 and the AP’s Gramling Spirit Award in 2010. However, last year he was seriously injured during explosions while taking pictures at a Gaza police dump for unexploded Israeli ordnance in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.
