Madelene Kollab on the beach of Gaza city

Despite Israel’s imposition of illegal restrictions which confine fishers to within 3 nautical miles of the shore, fishing remains one of the major pillars of the Gazan economy. At present there are approximately 8,000 fishers working in the entire Gaza Strip, including 3,500 who are registered by the authorities. Of them, Madelene Kollab, 18, is the only woman. She fishes sardine and squid with a small engined boat, a fishing rod and a net inherited by her father from her grand father, who were also fishers.

"Each instant I remember him, I keep calling his name in the house, looking for him everywhere… Ayoub… "

Ayoub's picture the day before he died