In the dim light of Sunday evening, Gaza lost one of its most steadfast voices. Journalist and activist Saleh Al-Jaafrawi was shot and killed while documenting the ruins of yet another devastated neighbourhood in Sabra, south of Gaza City. His camera, which had long captured the daily struggle of life amid destruction, fell silent where he stood. Moments later, his body was taken to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital.

For years, Al-Jaafrawi had chronicled the human cost of the ongoing genocidal war, giving a face to the thousands forced from their homes and stripped of their livelihoods. His work bore witness to the endurance of a people determined to survive despite everything. Just days before his death, he spoke of the fragile relief of still being alive after two years of relentless bombardment, words that now echo with haunting clarity.

Though the circumstances surrounding his death remain murky, many in Gaza believe his killing was not random. It is seen as another attempt to silence those who dare to tell the truth from within a place the world too often chooses not to see. Colleagues describe him as more than a reporter, a witness whose courage illuminated what others wished to keep hidden. His absence leaves an ache that goes beyond journalism; it is a wound to memory itself.