Gazan wedding photographer-turned-documenter of Gaza destruction said killed by IDF in Khan Younis

A Gazan photojournalist was killed today by an Israeli drone strike in the center of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, on the Hamas-controlled side of the ceasefire line, the city’s Nasser Hospital says.

Arabic media identifies him as Mahmoud Wadi, a drone photographer.

Wadi’s Instagram profile describes him as the owner of Khan Younis-based drone photography company Alquds Studio.

On his personal Instagram account, Wadi posted six before-and-after drone videos — with the “before” segments apparently AI-generated — starting earlier this month. A single earlier post was dated 2019.

The studio’s Facebook account, which has over 50,000 followers, indicates it focuses on wedding photography. One wedding-themed post was published on October 6, 2023 — a day before the Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza.

The account’s next post, published December 19, 2024, also documents a wedding taking place “despite all the difficult conditions and the war.”

On April 7 this year, the studio announced “with tearful eyes and hearts heavy with pain” that the business had been destroyed by Israel.

The studio appeared to still manage to photograph weddings in May and September, according to its social media accounts.

On May 25, the studio posted a video of children begging for food. “Today, we fix our lenses on Gaza to document an entirely different story,” said the studio, explaining its pivot from wedding videos.

The Times of Israel has been unable to find Wadi’s or Alquds Studio’s work featured in major news outlets.

The IDF does not immediately respond to a request for comment.