Gaza, Palestinian Territories
The Wider Image: Capturing 24 hours in Gaza, one hour at a time
In the build-up to the one-year anniversary of the Gaza border protests that opened up a deadly new front in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Reuters photographer Dylan Martinez visited Gaza for the first time. As someone who had never set eyes on Gaza, his assignment was to use those unfamiliar eyes to record life beyond the daily drumbeat of violence in the blockaded Palestinian territory. The mood has become more tense in recent weeks as the March 30 anniversary nears, with trails of Palestinian rockets and Israeli missiles again appearing in the skies above. Martinez did not know what to expect after he crossed through Israel's fortified checkpoint and past a long caged walkway and parallel road leading to a dilapidated Palestinian checkpoint at the other end. "We have a great team of photographers and journalists in Gaza whose main task, really, is to photograph the protest, the clashes between Israel and Gaza," said Martinez, 49, a 28-year Reuters veteran who has covered Europe, Asia and the Americas and is currently based in London. "My remit, I think, was to do pretty much anything but that. Because everyone has seen that side of Gaza." REUTERS/Dylan Martinez SEARCH "MARTINEZ GAZA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY. Matching text: ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/GAZA