Photographer for Getty Images Amir Levy talks about some of his most powerful images taken throughout the year since the 7 October attack by Hamas

I am an Israeli-American photojournalist with 15 years of experience, but nothing could have fully prepared me for the past year. I’ve been covering the Gaza and Lebanon borders and other breaking news every day since the 7 October attack for Getty Images, witnessing and capturing the raw emotions and human toll of the conflict. Balancing the intensity of documenting war while raising two children with my partner has been both emotionally and mentally demanding. Every shot I take feels like a personal responsibility — to tell the stories of those caught in the conflict, while also protecting my own family from its harsh realities.

On the morning of 7 October, my family and I were scheduled to hold a memorial event for my wife’s father in our garden. Everything was prepared the night before. We woke up on Saturday, grabbed our phones, and were stunned by what we saw: alarms ringing across vast areas of the country and vague rumours of events unfolding at the Gaza border. It quickly became clear that we needed to cancel the event. I hurriedly packed up my equipment and set out.