Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza left the besieged Gaza Strip for Qatar

Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza announced on Tuesday that he would be leaving the war-torn Gaza Strip on Tuesday for Qatar. 

“I had to evacuate for a lot of reasons you all know some of it but not all of it,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Thank you all. Pray for Gaza.”

Azaiza has been one of a key handful of individuals on the ground bringing live updates of the Israel-Hamas war to his more than 18 million followers on Instagram and over a million on X.

“This is the last time you will see me with this heavy, stinky vest,” Azaiza said in an emotional Instagram video.