Ismael Abu Hatab was born in 1993 and grew up in Gaza City; he was a 36-year-old photojournalist and filmmaker. He began at a very young age photographing daily life and scenes of the conflicts with Israel; in 2008, he was working as a freelancer for local agencies. His Instagram account, @ismailabuhatab had 96,000 followers.
His family lived in Gaza City. His parents, his two sisters, and his younger brother Ahmed—who worked with him in Gaza—continued to collaborate with him from Germany. His brother-in-law was martyred in November 2023, leaving him to care for his widowed sister and nephews.
He studied at the University of Applied Sciences in Gaza City. He started his own company and worked in the 16-story Al Ghafri Tower, home to many media offices, including the Palestinian Media Group, and collaborated with international organizations such as the BBC, DW, and Care International. The media was targeted by Israel to prevent the broadcast of news from Gaza.
The Al Ghafri Tower was bombed by Israel on November 2, 2023. While Ismael was in the PMG offices, he was wounded in the leg, transferred to the PRCS Hospital, and endured the siege of the hospital for 15 days. He was unable to walk for nearly a year and lost his business, his equipment, and his apartment. On September 15, 2025, Israel bombed the Al-Ghafri Tower, reducing it to rubble.
He founded the collective By Palestine (ByPa), a platform to amplify Palestinian voices through photography, writing, art, music, and storytelling, where he collaborated with the artist Frans Al-Salmi. Among his projects was the installation of “The Tent Gallery” in April 2025 in Los Angeles, CA—an exhibition set inside a tent, “Between Sky & Sea”, featuring documentaries and photographs of the displacement, siege, bombings, and suffering caused by Israel’s genocide in Gaza—an exhibition he hoped to bring to Chicago and London.
On June 30, 2025, Ismael was at the Al Baqa café with Frans Al Salmi, a very popular spot in Gaza City with terraces overlooking the sea. It served as a gathering and workspace for journalists and artists—thanks to its internet connection—as well as a venue for family celebrations. Israel bombed the café with two successive strikes, reducing it to rubble and killing more than 70 people, including Ismael and Frans.
Drawing by Dolores Collado
Full history to print: 059_Ismael_Abu_hatab_english.pdf
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