Le Monde's opinion – Must-See

Imagine the gentle face of a young woman, always appearing in the same tight, vertical shot on a cell phone screen. Now imagine Fatma Hassona, a Palestinian photographer and poet, who bore witness to the tragedies of daily life in Gaza and answered the regular calls of Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi over the course of a year, from April 24, 2024, to April 15, 2025.

Imagine the reserves of courage Hassona mustered throughout these filmed conversations, offering a radiant smile and replying, "Yes, I'm okay," even as, week after week, a cascade of disasters struck the Palestinian enclave following the massacres carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and the Israeli army's ensuing reprisals.

Imagine the anxiety that would seize the filmmaker each time she dialed the photographer's number. Would "Fatem," as she called her, appear on the small screen? Was she still alive? On the night of April 16, Hassona died at the age of 25 along with several members of her family, victims of a targeted Israeli attack. A drone dropped two missiles that exploded on the floor where she lived.

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