Journalists Under Fire in Gaza: Israel's Killing of Hassan Islih

In an era when the sounds of cannons rise and the voices of consciences fade, the profession of journalism emerges not merely as a job, but as one of the noblest forms of struggle in the cause of God, when words turn into weapons, and an image becomes more powerful than a thousand bullets, and blood is shed not for any sin other than exposing falsehood and revealing its crimes.

The Palestinian journalist Hassan Tashleeh has departed as a martyr while practicing his sacred profession, conveying the truth to the world at a time when lies have become paramount, silence is betrayal, and neutrality is a form of complicity. He did not carry a rifle, but the camera in his hand disturbed the occupier's sleep because it revealed to the people what the enemy was trying to hide and transmitted to the world scenes of the daily massacres committed against innocent civilians in Gaza.

Journalism... A profession of troubles or a path of martyrs?

Journalism in Palestine is no longer just a profession practiced within traditional professional standards; it has become a front line and one of the arenas of conflict. While many hide behind their desks, Hassan Islih and his colleagues run under shelling, chasing moments of truth to record them in the collective consciousness, not just on paper.

He knew he was a target, and that the occupation makes no distinction between a journalist and a fighter; to them, anyone who speaks a word of truth or exposes a crime is an enemy. Nevertheless, he did not retreat; instead, he chose to be a voice for the voiceless, a lens that captures the tears of mothers, the groans of the wounded, the chants for the martyrs, and the determination of the resistors.

The word is a trust... and the blood of the journalist is a witness.

In our noble Shari'ah, the word is a responsibility, and the pulpit is a trust. Allah Almighty said... (he does not utter a single word without an ever-present watcher.) (Qaf:18)

In our noble Shari'ah, the word is a responsibility, and the pulpit is a trust. Allah Almighty said... And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand other Muslims are safe." (Narrated by al-Bukhari).

How about the one who dedicates his tongue, pen, and lens to support the oppressed and expose the criminals? Isn't that one of the greatest avenues of jihad?!

Indeed, scholars have considered those who die for the sake of speaking the truth in the face of an unjust ruler to be martyrs. So how about someone who says it in the face of an oppressive occupier?

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The best form of jihad is a word of truth in the face of a tyrannical ruler.”

If a word is spoken under bombardment, accompanied by images of body parts, and its cost is paid in lives, is not its speaker a martyr, by God's permission

See how reporters in Gaza were... the truth that angered 'Israel

The Biography of the Martyr of the Word.

He was not a fleeting journalist; he was a man with a message, for which he lived and was martyred. No one forced him to cover the massacres; he chose it out of conviction, believing that the media has a role in resisting the occupier that is no less significant than the role of weapons.

He was one of the few who continued to cover the events despite the imminent danger faced by anyone carrying a camera or microphone. Amid global media blackout and blatant Western bias towards the occupation, his reports stood like a rock against the media deception, declaring amidst the destruction: "This is Gaza... Here, the truth is killed, silence is slaughtered, and the blood of the innocent is traded in the stock markets of politics.

Gaza... where the word is killed, and the lens is fought.

It is painful that the civilized world, which boasts of freedom of expression, watches dozens of journalists being killed in Gaza and does not move a muscle.

Where are the international treaties? Where are the laws protecting journalists? And where is the global conscience that awakens at the slightest incident in Western countries, but remains silent during the ongoing massacres in Gaza?

But we are not surprised, for Allah, the Exalted, said: (And they will not stop fighting you until they turn you away from your faith—if they can) (Al-Baqarah)

It is enough to know that more than 140 journalists have been killed since the beginning of the recent aggression against Gaza, to realize that the truth in words terrifies the enemy more than bullets, and that a truthful lens is more lethal than cannons.

Our duty towards the blood of the righteous and their likes.

The martyrdom of Islihy is not just news that is announced and then forgotten; rather, it is a call for all of us not to remain silent.

- We remind the world of his blood every day.

- We support free journalism and resistance by all possible means.

We expose the silence of institutions, and we redefine freedom of expression as Islam intended it, a word of truth in the face of a tyrant

We prepare our children to be bearers of the trust of the word, not servants of Western interests.

Let us always remember: a truthful word is an act of worship, silence in the face of the truth is betrayal, and defending the people of Gaza is a religious obligation, not merely an emotional sympathy.

In times of extermination, the profession of journalism becomes a path toward martyrdom.

In the time of international collusion, the journalist who struggles is greater than a thousand silent leaders.

In the time of the ongoing Nakba, the name Hassan Islih becomes a witness to the crime of the age, and to a nation that did not fulfill its support.

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