Palestinian Photojournalist Killed in Israeli Air Strike in Gaza, Known for his Newborn Baby Portraits
Gaza: Well-known Palestinian journalist Yahia Barzaq, known for his creative photography of newborns, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike. With this, another talented journalist in Gaza has been silenced forever.
Before the Israeli military operation, the 34-year-old Cyprus-born photojournalist owned his studio, the only one in Gaza that specialized in newborn photography. Many of the Palestinian babies Barzaq photographed were killed in the Israeli military operation. In one of his posts, he wrote, "How can I watch their tender, innocent bodies burn, when I saw them at their most beautiful every day?"
A few days earlier, Barzaq had seen a photograph of a newborn baby buried under the rubble of houses, a photo Barzaq himself had once taken. "I never imagined that these beautiful photographs we took would be destroyed," Yahia Barzaq said. Barzak used the photographs to honor the martyred children and raise awareness about the war.
On September 30, 2025, Barzaq was uploading his assignment at a cafe in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, when Israeli forces bombed it and he died. In his last Instagram post, Barzaq described how he was forced to flee Gaza, leaving behind the studio he called home.
The Palestinian photojournalist who Israel killed an hour ago, Yahia Barzaq, was a newborn photographer.
— Mosab Abu Toha (@MosabAbuToha) September 30, 2025
I’m sharing here some of his photography. pic.twitter.com/J8ehspk368
In another post, Barzaq wrote that his body was displaced south, but his heart remained in Gaza City. After leaving the studio, Barzaq began working for the Turkish broadcaster TRT World, focusing on the effects of war on civilians, especially children. Dozens of people attended Barzaq's funeral at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital on October 1.
