Motaz Azaiza: Between Dreams And Duty
"Gaza is alone. It’s alone, and I keep feeling I need to do more for it.”
Motaz Azaiza might have received a standing ovation when he spoke at Web Summit Qatar this year, but no amount of applause can lighten the emotional weight he is carrying.
The 26-year-old Palestinian photojournalist became a global figure for his frontline coverage of the war Israel has waged against his hometown of Gaza since October 2023. And even though he was evacuated from Gaza in January last year, it was clear when I spoke with him at Web Summit Qatar 2025 that thoughts of the people left behind remain at the forefront of his mind.
“Gaza is alone,” Azaiza said. “It’s alone, and I keep feeling I need to do more for it.”
Azaiza’s words are indicative of the inner turmoil he grapples with, even as he remains a tireless advocate for Palestine, be it on his social media platforms, or on stages across the world. It’s a responsibility that has essentially been thrust on him, and it has also forced him to set aside any dreams he might have had for himself once upon a time.
“I had a passion to become a travel photographer, to work with an entity like National Geographic,” he shared – but that ambition feels almost unrecognizable now. “I wish I could do something for me, for my life,” Azaiza said. “But I can’t. Even if I get this opportunity now, I can’t, because I feel like I’m in a place that’s so far from all such things.”
But despite the grief for a life that could have been, Azaiza refuses to walk away.
“I hate being, like, a symbol – but I can’t leave it,” he said. “I can’t leave it, because I’ve been dreaming of being someone who can make change happen, and now, I have that opportunity. It’s hard, it’s not easy, but I need to do it. I need to continue, because I could be a reason to make Gaza live again.”
Azaiza is continuing to press on. And in a world that seems so indifferent to Palestine, his persistence is a challenge to humanity to see, to listen, and to care – before it’s too late.
Pictured in the lead image is Motaz Azaiza. Image courtesy Web Summit.
This article first appeared in the March 2025 issue of Inc. Arabia magazine. To read the full issue online, click here.
