Ruwaida Amer

Ruwaida Amer is a freelance journalist from Khan Younis.

Recent Articles

Displaced Palestinians seek shelter on the campus of the Islamic University in northern Gaza, March 24, 2025. (Ruwaida Amer)

PHOTOS: A ruined university in northern Gaza becomes a refuge

Forced out of their homes once more, thousands of Palestinians have crowded into the Islamic University campus, west of Gaza City — where burning books is the only way to boil water, heat food, and stay warm.

By Ruwaida Amer April 15, 2025

Palestinians mourn those killed in an Israeli airstrike, Nasser Hospital, Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, March 24, 2025. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

‘They’ll kill us all’: Gazans plead for intervention as Israeli attacks intensify

Israel’s army is pummeling Gaza with an intensity that parallels the deadliest phase of the war, displacing civilians en masse from Rafah and Gaza City.

By Ruwaida Amer and Ahmed Ahmed April 7, 2025

Palestinians take part in a protest calling for the end of the war and of Hamas' rule in Gaza, Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, March 26, 2025. (Flash90)

‘We want to live’: Rage at Israel fuses with ire at Hamas as protests rock Gaza

In the enclave's largest demonstrations in years, Palestinians called for an immediate end to the war and elections to choose a new leadership.

By Ruwaida Amer March 27, 2025

Palestinians mourn the death of Palestinians killed in an Israeli air strike outside the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, March 18, 2025. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90)

‘We just want it all to stop’: Palestinians across Gaza awake to new Israeli massacre

After recovering a semblance of safety during the ceasefire, Gazans are forced again to decide whether or not to flee their homes as Israel resumes its assault.

By Ruwaida Amer March 18, 2025

Gazans light fireworks over the ruins of Khan Younis to celebrate Ramadan, with Israel’s blockade causing an ongoing electricity blackout, March 12, 2025. (Doaa Albaz/Activestills)

Fasting while starving, Gazans struggle to mark Ramadan

As Israel continues to prevent the entry of food into the Strip, Palestinians are gathering with surviving family members to observe the holiday in the rubble.

By Ruwaida Amer and Ibtisam Mahdi March 17, 2025

A fisherman checks the fish he managed to catch, on the beach of Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, December 7, 2024. (Ruwaida Amer)

‘Anyone who goes near the water risks his life. But if we leave the sea, we die’

Little remains of Gaza’s fishing industry, devastated by the war and years of Israeli restrictions. Yet fishermen are still clinging on to their livelihood.

By Ruwaida Amer March 11, 2025

Displaced Palestinians make their way back to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip via the Netzarim Corridor, Jan. 28, 2025. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

Weeks after Israeli withdrawal, Gazans still search for the missing in Netzarim

Thousands of Palestinians have made the arduous journey across Gaza's central corridor, as Civil Defense workers slowly uncover human remains.

By Ruwaida Amer March 4, 2025

Dr. Abu Shahada after his release from Israeli detention, January 2025. (Courtesy of Mahmoud Abu Shahada)

Beatings, diseases, humiliation: A Palestinian doctor’s year in Israeli jails

Held without charge, Dr. Mahmoud Abu Shahada faced months of physical and psychological abuse after his arrest in Israel’s raid on Gaza's Nasser Hospital.

By Ruwaida Amer February 18, 2025

An aerial view of destroyed residential buildings in the Tel Al-Sultan neighborhood, following the withdrawal of Israeli army in Rafah, January 19, 2025. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

Gazans dreamed of returning to Rafah. The reality is a nightmare

Few have gone back to Gaza’s southern city, where Israeli forces on the border are still firing at civilians. Those who have barely recognize their own homes.

By Ruwaida Amer February 4, 2025

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and Albina Abu Safiya. (Courtesy of the family)

Albina Abu Safiya: ‘The Israeli army deliberately targeted my husband’

Following Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s arrest in northern Gaza, his wife describes her fears over the hospital director's fate and the tragedy of their son's killing.

By Ruwaida Amer January 17, 2025