More Stories to Tell

I’m excited to share more of my stories and writing with the world here, but it breaks my heart that I’ve had to create this space to tell them.

Women and children enjoy a summer day at the beach in Gaza City, June 16, 2023. [Photo: Mohammed R. Mhawish]

My name is Mohammed Mhawish, and I am a Palestinian journalist and writer from Gaza City.

In the past year, those words have taken on a grave new resonance. It has never felt more dangerous to be a Palestinian journalist from Gaza. Israel has killed over 100 of my colleagues since it began its genocidal assault on my home last October. Israel almost killed me too, along with my family—all for the crime of trying to bring the story of my people to the world.

Yet it has also never felt more necessary to keep going—to resist the drive to erase the Palestinian people, and our voices, from the earth.

Over the last year, we, the people of Gaza, have endured terror and heartbreak, hunger and injury, and so, so much death. Now, my family and I are enduring the pain of exile. It has been hellish in ways that I may never be able to fully articulate.

But through all of that, one thing has kept me tethered to my own humanity, and helped me fight back: writing. Writing is my resistance.

In the past, I have reported for outlets such as Al Jazeera, The Nation, The Economist, +972 Magazine, and The New Arab. They have given me incredible opportunities, and I intend to keep writing for them as long as they will let me.

I have navigated a journalism industry that, while touting diversity, still feels isolating. I’ve been tokenized, told I’m here because of where I come from, what I represent, and the access I provide.

My voice has often been constrained, my words met with limits, censorship, and silence. Writing critically about occupation, war, and Gaza comes at a cost—even apart from the physical and emotional traumas that it can cause.

Mainstream media, driven by agendas and careful of boundaries, often fails to allow space for unfiltered truth. White editors often set the terms, and being critical of power—whether that be institutional racism or the occupation of Palestine—can be a lonely and difficult road to walk.

But this space is where I will write freely, where my voice can exist without the constraints imposed by others. Here, I hope to reclaim that voice, free from the confines that have muted my experiences and perspectives.

I have more to say, and more stories to tell. And that is why I am launching this newsletter on Substack. This is a platform for the untold stories—my own, those of my people, and the ongoing struggle for freedom.

It’s not just about being heard; it’s about sharing what mainstream media won’t always carry. Now, I can hopefully speak as I need to, and I would love your support on this journey.