Martyrdom in the Line of Truth: The Final Frame of Maryam Abu Daqqa
A Gaza-based journalist captured humanity amid war — only to be killed while documenting the unfolding tragedy atop a bombed hospital.
On August 25, 2025, in a poignant and harrowing act of (photo) journalism, Maryam Riyad Abu Dagga—a Palestinian journalist known for her unflinching commitment to truth—became a martyr. While filming atop the emergency building of Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, she perished under two consecutive explosions, her camera the only “weapon” she wielded.
In her final message to her son, Ghaith, Maryam wrote:
“Ghaith, you are your mother’s heart and soul. I want you to promise me you won’t cry for me… My dear, do not forget me. My love, everything I did was to see you happy… When you grow up, get married, and have a daughter, name her ‘Maryam,’ after me.”
These words, tender and resolute, stand in stark contrast to the violent silence that followed.
A Life Framed by Conflict
From 2020, Maryam immersed herself in the scenes of destruction—ruined streets, overcrowded hospitals, and every story in between. Not a distant observer, she stood amidst the rubble and chaos, even after losing her home and equipment to the war.
Her Instagram feed was more than a collection of images—it was a testament to resilience and resistance. Her lens captured the raw realities of life in Gaza: a child clutching a schoolbook amid rubble, a queue for bread, ambulances racing through dusty roads, and wounded citizens ascending into memory.
Despite personal tragedy, Maryam persevered. Even after her mother fell ill and died in a hospital unable to offer treatment, she reported on the war's human toll without pause.
Witness to War
“Every moment was spent between documenting the truth and protecting herself,” says Tahseen al‑Astal, Vice President of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, recalling Maryam’s tireless presence on the front lines.
Amid power cuts and scarce connectivity, journalists turned Gaza’s hospitals into operational bases. As one Al Jazeera reporter, Hind, put it:
“We are in a two‑year war without electricity and internet. Palestinian journalists have made hospitals their base to continue reporting…”
Yet, hospitals—the few sanctuaries left—have become targets themselves. Under international law, journalists are civilians and the deliberate targeting of them or hospitals amounts to war crimes. Still, the bombardments continue.
The Cost of Bearing Witness
Since the war began, at least 246 journalists have been killed in Gaza, many of them women like Maryam—whose bravery followed in the footsteps of the late Shireen Abu Akleh. The toll of the conflict is staggering: more than 62,000 Palestinians killed, over half of them women and children, while the international community struggles to respond effectively.
On August 24, 2025, Iran’s Supreme Leader declared that the Zionist regime’s actions in Gaza were “unprecedented in history,” citing the horrific targeting of both media and medical facilities.
Enduring Voice Through Images
Maryam's last Instagram post, written just seven days before she was killed, echoed with quiet urgency:
“In this life, we are passersby, we pass like a cloud that passes, and we own nothing but our deeds.”
Though her camera fell silent, the images she left behind continue to speak—capturing moments of courage, suffering, hope, and humanity. In Maryam’s final frame, we see more than a photo; we see the light of a witness who refused to let the world turn away.