Hanin al-Qutshan: Gaza’s voice who defied death and turned her words into a testament to humanity
Al-Khamisa News Network - Gaza
Haneen al-Qatshan.. Press Satellites Prepared by: Amina Ghanam
In Gaza, Palestinian journalist Haneen al-Qatshan lived a conflict between her work and mission amid the conditions in the Strip, and her humanity as a daughter, sister and woman who feared the pain of loss. With these feelings, the martyred journalist Haneen al-Qatshan concluded the last message she broadcast to the world before becoming a new witness to the occupation’s massacres.
The martyred journalist Haneen Ali al-Qatshan was born on December 23, 1990, in the al-Nuseirat camp in the middle of the Strip. She received her high school diploma from the Mamdouh Saidem Girls’ School and went on to enroll at Al-Quds Open University in Gaza.
After graduating she worked as an editor at the Ahwal Al-Bilad website, later served as a presenter at Baladna TV, worked as a program producer at Al-Kufiya channel, and her last post was as a presenter at Radio Sawt Al-Watan (Voice of the Homeland).
Her belief in the word
She believed that words can heal people’s wounds and that a free voice can be a window to salvation amid the darkness. With these words, Layan Al-Sayed, a friend of the martyred Haneen, described her, saying Haneen was not merely a journalist sitting in front of a microphone, but a person who carried, between her warm laughter and simple manner, a heart full of love for her homeland and its people.
She continued in an interview with Al-Khamisa in a voice choked with grief and the pain of loss: “Haneen knew that journalism in Palestine is not a safe profession, but a daily battle with danger. Yet she chose to be in it with all her courage, until she was martyred under the rubble of her home in al-Nuseirat, leaving behind a story brimming with humanity and dreams that have not and will not be realized.”
She noted that away from the camera and microphone, Haneen was a warm, smiling person who cared for her colleagues, family and friends and wanted to carry the word to those who have no voice.
The final words
Shortly before the massacre, Haneen recorded an audio message not knowing it would be her last. Fear overtook her and tears dominated the moment; that final message remains a witness from the heart of death that the Israeli occupation does not distinguish in whom it kills — Palestinians are always an exposed target.
On December 17, 2023, Haneen was martyred along with her father and mother, her sister Linda and her brothers Shadi and Atef after a strike directly hit their home in the al-Nuseirat camp. Her final wish — to depart without shedding tears over the loss of her family — was fulfilled: they were killed together.
Haneen is gone, but her words remain. She stands as testimony that journalists do not only report the news — they live it — and her dreams beneath the rubble of her home bear witness to the human face of Palestinian journalism that cannot be erased.
