Martin Adler Prize – Winner
Aseel Mousa
Based in: Palestine/UK
“Aseel experienced in six months what few journalists will experience in a lifetime. She worked hard in Gaza as life collapsed around her and carried out her reporting with a professionalism, a sense of compassion and an enthusiasm that continues to astound me.
This war differs from previous ones in the Gaza Strip. Israel prevented international journalists from entering the area, placing a greater burden on local journalists working under harsh conditions. Aseel lost so many relatives and friends in the ongoing war. Furthermore, she was displaced twice while in Gaza, and her house was bombed. She faced significant challenges, such as struggling to connect to the Internet and access electricity to charge her laptop and phone. Israel’s fuel restrictions made transportation nearly impossible, often forcing Aseel to use a donkey-drawn cart to reach the victims’ locations.
Working as a woman journalist amidst the war and chaos in Gaza was particularly challenging in a conservative Palestinian society. Despite the large-scale displacement, destruction, killing, and constant bombing, she was committed to highlighting the suffering of women. Women in Gaza often feel they cannot share their stories and suffering except with other women, and Aseel aimed to give them a voice.
More than 150 Palestinian journalists were killed in the conflict, many of whom were directly targeted. This made journalism an incredibly risky profession. However, Aseel’s belief in national duty and commitment to being a voice for the voiceless motivated her to continue working. As a result, she received threats from the Israeli army and faced harassment, provocation, and insults on Twitter, where she published daily updates.
One of her articles for The Guardian, titled “War’s toll on education in Gaza casts shadow over children’s future,” which discussed Israel’s targeting of academics, was recently cited in a US court document.”
See some of Aseel’s work for The Guardian:
“Excellent, well-rounded, well-researched human stories during a time of conflict – sharing simple, evocative truths. Incredible journalism; it is no easy feat to get the access and follow up these kinds of stories when working in a conflict that affects you personally. Somehow Aseel has managed to focus on telling the stories of others and telling them with beautiful clarity – not many can do that.”
Martin Adler Prize Jury
Bio
Aseel Mousa is a Palestinian journalist born and raised in Gaza. She studied at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, where she was awarded a degree in English Literature in 2020. After graduation, she worked as a translator and journalist for local media agencies in Gaza. In 2022, she began working as a freelancer for international media outlets such as The Guardian, Middle East Eye, and The Intercept. Aseel has covered Israeli attacks on Gaza since 2021 and continues to report on the ongoing Israeli genocide from Egypt.
Due to Israel’s prevention of international journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, Aseel was keen to be the voice for the voiceless from the beginning of the genocide until she was forced to evacuate Gaza. To escape the bombings, Aseel moved to southern Gaza and then to Egypt in March 2024 after her home was bombed by Israel forces.
Aseel was nominated for the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize by Reporters Without Borders in February 2024 for providing vital testimony about the experiences of Gaza’s population and the conditions for patients, including pregnant women, in the few hospitals still standing.