“I don’t believe this is about Israel’s security.”

What’s it like to be a medic inside Gaza’s shattered healthcare system?

British plastic surgeon Dr Victoria Rose joins us on Real Talk to share her first-hand account of the harrowing scenes she witnessed in Gaza.

She opens up about why she believes Israel is “definitely” targeting medics, how this has become a “war on children”, and her experience operating on Palestinian patients at Gaza’s hospitals.

Rose worked in Gaza twice in 2024 - at the European Gaza Hospital in March and the Nasser Hospital in August - and spoke with us ahead of her planned return to the besieged enclave in February 2025.

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview programme hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

Catch all our Real Talk episodes on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1yRh7NMaNqOTpWkGSJPC8kIm

“If you’re an Arab, specifically a Palestinian journalist…you are political. Your identity is political.”

We recently sat down with award-winning journalist and filmmaker Hind Hassan for a reflective conversation that delves into Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Russia-Ukraine.

We also discussed Western media’s coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, with Hind reflecting on the challenges faced by many journalists in the field, including those of Arab heritage: “Many of us looked at our places in the industry.”

The British-Iraqi journalist also shared insights from some of her acclaimed work in the field, which included reporting from Gaza in 2021, the last English-language interview with Yahya Sinwar (the former Hamas leader who was killed in 2024), as well as her reports on Sheikh Jarrah, the Russia-Ukraine war and an upcoming MEE documentary on Lebanon.

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview programme hosted by Mohamed Hashem

Catch all our Real Talk episodes on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1yRh7NMaNqOTpWkGSJPC8kIm

Nearly 12 years after her father was arrested in 2013, and days after Bashar al-Assad was toppled, Wafa Mustafa is now going back to Syria driven by a determination to find him.

Wafa has not returned to her home country since escaping over a decade ago, shortly after her father, Ali, was forcibly disappeared by Bashar al-Assad’s government forces during the Syrian uprising.

Speaking just before embarking on her journey back to Syria, Wafa joined us for a personal conversation, reflecting on the fall of Assad, her life in Germany and her relentless fight to find her father.

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview programme hosted by Mohamed Hashem.

Catch all our Real Talk episodes on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1yRh7NMaNqOTpWkGSJPC8kIm