Ruwaida Amer

Ruwaida Amer is a freelance journalist from Khan Younis.

Recent Articles

Gazans visit the ruins of Al-Baqa Cafe, Gaza City, after Israeli forces dropped a 500lb bomb on the site, June 30, 2025. (Omar El Qataa)

Gaza’s Al-Baqa Cafe was a sanctuary amid the genocide. Now it lies in ruins

With a 500lb bomb, Israel destroyed a beloved seaside cafe that offered rare respite for journalists and residents. Gazans remember the dozens killed.

By Ruwaida Amer July 3, 2025

Palestinian boy holding a leaflet dropped by the Israeli army ordering residents to evacuate the Bani Suhaila and Abasan areas in eastern Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 19, 2025 (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Days of terror in Gaza’s ‘Block 76’

My family clung to our hometown of Al-Fukhari for as long as we could, until Israel's evacuation orders and new assault left us with no choice.

By Ruwaida Amer May 21, 2025

Twelve-year-old Rahaf Ayad holds a phone showing a picture of herself before the war, in her family's home in Gaza City, May 2, 2025. (Ahmed Ahmed)

‘She’s dying in front of my eyes’: The Gazan children starving under Israeli siege

With over 70,000 children hospitalized for malnutrition, Israel's blockade on the Strip has left parents to watch helplessly as their children waste away.

By Ahmed Ahmed and Ruwaida Amer May 8, 2025

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