Israel-Hamas war: 16 sources to follow to find out what's happening in Gaza

Warning: Contains distressing content throughout

As the world remains hopeful with Free Palestine protests, Israel hit the Gaza Strip for the 28th consecutive day, creating a humanitarian catastrophe.

Hamas’ unprecedented ambush on southern Israel (7 October) left 1,405 people dead. The militant group are believed to have taken approximately 220 hostages, including a number of foreigners and dual nationals. Five of them have been released, offering hope to the families of those still captive.

In Gaza, the death toll has surpassed 9,227 at the time of writing – 3,826 of whom are children, with Israeli air strikes reportedly killing a child every 10 minutes since the start of the war. A further 32,516 people have been injured.

As the war escalates between Hamas and Israel, there is mounting concern across the globe.

The Ministry of Health said there are approximately 50,000 pregnant women in the Gaza Strip, with around 166 "unsafe births" a day.

"It is expected that 5,500 women will give birth in the coming month," they said in a statement, adding that untreated water has forced diseases to become more widespread.

With a lack of basic human supplies including food, electricity and connection, social media users in Gaza desperately continue to try and share their first-hand experience of living in a war zone.

Journalists, 36 of whom have been killed, are charging phones in cars when possible. Still, with poor connection and little battery, it's proving a problem for some to fight the algorithm.

Some harrowing Instagram Story updates are simply to inform people they are still alive.

Here are 16 brave Palestinians and organisations fighting to shed light on the situation in Gaza:

Motaz Azaiza, photographer – @motaz_azaiza

Moataz is a photojournalist who shares snippets of the Gaza destruction with his 7.2 million followers, alongside working with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Plestia Alaqad, journalist – @byplestia

Born and raised in Gaza, the 21-year-old journalist shares daily first-person updates and candidly answers questions from her million followers.

Wael Dahdouh, journalist – @wael_eldahdouh

The Al Jazeera correspondent bravely continues to work at the scene, despite mourning his entire immediate family (including his wife, son, daughter and grandson) from an Israeli airstrike.

In a statement, Al Jazeerasaid: "Their home was targeted in the Nuseirat camp in the centre of Gaza, where they had sought refuge after being displaced by the initial bombardment in their neighbourhood, following Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu’s call for all civilians to move south.

"The network strongly condemns the indiscriminate targeting and killing of innocent civilians in Gaza, which has led to the loss of Wael al-Dahdouh’s family and countless others."

Doaa Mohammad, photographer – @_doaa_mohammad

Doaa is a photographer risking everything to share snippets of her life living in Gaza.

Jewish Voices for Peace – @jewishvoiceforpeace

The organisation is a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of US Jews in solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle.

Hamza Wael, photographer – @hamza_w_dahdooh

Hosam Salem, photojournalist – @hosalem

Shaun King – @shaunking

King is an American writer and activist who uses his platform to spread political awareness to his 4.9 million followers. He became a voice for the Black Lives Matter movement and is now shedding light on the catastrophe, using footage from Palestinians at the scene.

Eye on Palestine – @eye.on.palestine

Eye on Palestine is an independent account working non-stop to bring together content from inside the catastrophe.

Ahmed Hijazi, video creator – @ahmedhijaze

IMEU – @theimeu

The Institute for Middle East Understanding is a non-profit organisation on all things Palestine, working to connect people in the media with expert sources.

Bisan, filmmaker – @wizard_bisan1

Bel Trew – @Beltrew

Bel is The Independent's Chief International Correspondent, who won Foreign Reporter of the Year 2023.

Bel has covered events across the Middle East since the start of the Arab Spring in 2011, reporting on uprisings and wars from South Sudan to Yemen, Iraq to Syria.

Hind Khoudary, journalist – @hindkhoudary

Hind is a Palestinian journalist based in the Gaza Strip. Her latest upload shows empty shelves, with the caption: "We are running out of food."

Palestinian Youth Movement – @palestinianyouthmovement

Founded in 2011, the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) is an organisation of Palestinian & Arab youth "struggling for the liberation of our homeland."

Dima Khatib, journalist – @ladimakhatib

Dima is a Syrian-born journalist, poet and translator. She is the managing director of AJ+. While she does not live in Gaza, she has dedicated her life to advocating for justice and human rights.

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