As Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza’s last 'safe zone' loomed in April 2024, Al Jazeera’s Close Up produced a haunting portrait of two young displaced Palestinians, 9-year-old Najwa and 11-year-old Husam, who felt their deaths were imminent.The film No Refuge for Rafah’s Children aims to document the daily life in the tent city, showing the human toll of war and the resilience of children forced to grow up faster than they should. It also humanize the suffering of these children and the desperate need for international intervention to protect civilians, especially the youngest. By capturing what it's like to be a child in Rafah, waiting for an Israeli military offensive, the film aims to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the profound psychological and physical toll on children. It also provides a platform to voices often unheard, allowing viewers to better understand the challenges faced by those caught in the conflict.
As Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza’s last 'safe zone' loomed in April 2024, Al Jazeera’s Close Up produced a haunting portrait of two young displaced Palestinians, 9-year-old Najwa and 11-year-old Husam, who felt their deaths were imminent.The film No Refuge for Rafah’s Children aims to document the daily life in the tent city, showing the human toll of war and the resilience of children forced to grow up faster than they should. It also humanize the suffering of these children and the desperate need for international intervention to protect civilians, especially the youngest. By capturing what it's like to be a child in Rafah, waiting for an Israeli military offensive, the film aims to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the profound psychological and physical toll on children. It also provides a platform to voices often unheard, allowing viewers to better understand the challenges faced by those caught in the conflict.
As Israel prepared its assault on Rafah, our team felt a pressing need to amplify the voices of the children in the tented city. Since the war erupted in October 2023, more than half of Gaza’s population had been driven to Rafah, fleeing from other areas under intense Israeli pressure. Among them, 600,000 children were at immediate risk of forced displacement. Our goal was to go beyond the headlines and bring the human cost of this crisis to light—focusing on how these children perceived the violence around them, what "safe passage" meant to them, how they experienced living under invasion, and the daily trauma they endured.
We set out to find two children with whom we could build trust and follow over time, knowing that each child processes war and danger in their own unique way. To capture their experiences, we chose an intimate, observational documentary style. After careful consideration, we focused on Hussam and Nawja. Through their stories, viewers are able to witness their daily struggles, the creativity they employ in survival, and their unwavering determination to hold onto hope. In our film, we focus on the subtle details that reveal the toll war and displacement take on children. For example, Hussam, referred to as "Gaza’s Isaac Newton," shows us his remarkable ingenuity by crafting a makeshift electrical system from scrap materials, providing a temporary light source in the tent he shares with his family. Meanwhile, Najwa tells us that if Rafah is invaded, she, like all children, will go down with the tents. We also capture moments like Najwa and a friend playing an imaginative game, pretending to return to sleep in their beds and describing what their rooms used to look like. These small, nuanced moments speak volumes about the profound impact of their experiences, and they are both haunting and heartbreaking.
Due to restrictions on foreign crews entering Gaza, we worked closely with a local team in Gaza for all aspects of production. We hired a local producer to build relationships with the children, and she, along with a cameraman, followed the children over several months. Additionally, we brought in a Palestinian composer to enhance the film with culturally resonant music, deepening the emotional impact of the narrative.
As with all films in conflict zones, challenges were inevitable. Initially, we planned to film several scenes, but curfews and the need to prioritize the safety of our crew complicated this. One of our characters also fell ill, forcing us to pause production for sometime.Despite these setbacks, the urgency to document the lives of these children remained. Our team worked in post-production under tight deadlines to ensure the film could be released ahead of Rafah's invasion.
Our film offers a powerful and unflinching portrayal of how children in Gaza are coping with war, trauma, and forced displacement. Our goal was to blend raw storytelling with journalistic integrity, presenting an honest account of the children’s experiences without sensationalizing their suffering.
The impact of the film was undeniable. On Instagram, the film garnered over 1.5 million views, and on YouTube, we received over 700 comments and more than 185,000 views, reaffirming our belief that audiences are seeking authentic, human stories that go beyond the headlines.
The timing of our film was crucial. We were able to publish our film just 10 days before the ground invasion of Rafah. This allowed us to raise awareness and shed light on the lives of these children at a critical moment, when the world’s attention was focused on the impending violence. On the night of the announcement, intense bombardment killed 22 people in Rafah, including 8 children, driving home the urgency of our message. With 1.5 million Palestinians in Rafah with nowhere else to go—many of whom had already fled other parts of Gaza—our film brought attention to the dire conditions they were facing. By releasing the film ahead of the invasion, we gave audiences a unique and urgent perspective on the human cost of the conflict, amplifying the voices of those most affected. The early release ensured that these children’s stories reached a global audience, sparking conversations and mobilizing support just before the situation in Rafah escalated further.