<div>Hello, my name is Camille, I’m from the Basque Country, and I want to share a message from my friend Ibrahim, who is from Gaza:
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<div>« I was shot three times while filming a documentary in Gaza.
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<div>One of the bullets destroyed the nerves in my right hand — the same hand I used to hold my camera.
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<div>In that moment, the cameraman documenting the story suddenly became part of it.
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<div>My name is Ibrahim Abu Ishaiba, a Palestinian filmmaker and photojournalist from Gaza.
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<div>For years, I dedicated my life to documenting reality and telling the stories of people living through war and hardship. My work has been featured by international media outlets including BBC and Channel 4 News, and in 2025 I was honored to receive the Rory Peck Award for Best Freelancer, one of the most respected awards in international journalism.
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<div>Before the war, my life was simple but meaningful. I had built my own small media and advertising company, and my office in Al-Ghefari Tower had become my second home — a place where I worked, edited films, and built my future.
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<div>But everything changed when the war began.
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<div>Losing My Home
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<div>Just six days after the war started in October 2023, our family home in Jabalia in northern Gaza was destroyed after a strike hit the house next to us.
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<div>My entire family — 16 people — suddenly became displaced.
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<div>Overnight we went from having a home to searching for safety from place to place.
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<div>Carrying the responsibility of supporting a large family during war is an overwhelming burden. Every day was filled with fear, uncertainty, and the struggle to secure even the most basic necessities.
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<div>Despite the danger, I continued working as a journalist and filmmaker, documenting the reality of the war while also trying to support my family in any way I could.
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<div>The Day Everything Changed
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<div>On July 21, 2025, I was filming a documentary in southern Gaza about a doctor working in what was supposed to be a humanitarian zone.
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<div>Then suddenly, everything happened in seconds.
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<div>Gunfire erupted.
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<div>I remember the sound of bullets cutting through the air — and then I felt them tear through my body.
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<div>I was shot three times.
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<div>One bullet struck my chest.
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<div>Two others hit my right arm, tearing through a major artery and destroying the nerves in my hand.
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<div>I fell to the ground.
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<div>For a moment, time seemed to slow down. I could feel the warmth of my blood, and I remember looking at my arm, realizing that the hand which had carried my camera for so many years could no longer move.
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<div>Lying there on the ground, I didn’t know if I would survive.
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<div>My colleague was killed instantly.
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<div>Doctors fought for hours to save my life, and after long and exhausting efforts they managed to stop the bleeding and stabilize me.
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<div>But the damage to my hand was devastating.
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<div>The nerves in my arm were severely injured, leaving me with a disability that affects even the simplest daily tasks.
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<div>Without delicate surgery and long medical rehabilitation, I may never regain full use of my hand again.
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<div>And without my hand… I cannot hold a camera.
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<div>Medical Evacuation
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<div>After months of pain and uncertainty, I was finally able to leave Gaza through a medical evacuation in order to receive urgent treatment.
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<div>Today, I am in South Africa, far from my home, my family, and everything familiar to me.
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<div>Here, I am trying to undergo the surgeries and rehabilitation necessary to save my hand and recover from my injuries.
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<div>Every day is a struggle — not only to heal physically, but also to rebuild a life that was suddenly taken from me.
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<div>Even from here, far away from Gaza, I continue to think about my family of 16 people, who are still struggling with the reality of war.
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<div>My hope is to recover and once again be able to support them.
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<div>Losing Everything I Built
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<div>While I was still recovering from my injuries, another devastating loss came.
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<div>On September 15, 2025, Al-Ghefari Tower, the building where my office and media company were located, was completely destroyed in an airstrike.
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<div>The place where I had worked for years — where I built my career and my dreams — was reduced to rubble.
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<div>I lost everything.
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<div>My office.
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<div>My equipment.
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<div>My workspace.
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<div>My livelihood.
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<div>It felt as though I lost my life twice — once when the bullets destroyed my hand, and again when everything I had built over years disappeared in seconds.
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<div>Why I Need Your Help
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<div>I never imagined that I would go from documenting the suffering of others… to asking for help myself.
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<div>This campaign will help me:
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<div>• Cover the cost of nerve reconstruction surgery
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<div>• Continue medical treatment and rehabilitation
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<div>• Replace essential filmmaking equipment
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<div>• Support my basic living needs during recovery
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<div>My dream is simple.
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<div>To heal.
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<div>To hold a camera again.
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<div>And to continue telling the stories that matter.
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<div>A New Beginning
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<div>War took my home.
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<div>It took my work.
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<div>It took my equipment.
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<div>And it nearly took my life.
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<div>But I still believe in starting again.
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<div>With your support, I hope to rebuild — piece by piece — and one day hold a camera again.
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<div>Even a small contribution can make a real difference.
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<div>From the bottom of my heart, thank you for standing with me.
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<div>— Ibrahim Abu Ishaiba »
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<div>The raised fund will be transferred directly to Ibrahim to help him in his new beginning.
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<div>From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
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Leigh Righton

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Help an Award-Winning Gaza Journalist Hold a Camera Again

Help an Award-Winning Gaza Journalist Hold a Camera Again

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