Based in
Gaza City, El Sayed worked for various
English language media outlets including
TRT World,
RT,
CNA and the
Associated Press, before becoming Al Jazeera English's Gaza Strip correspondent. She primarily reported from war zones, specialising in stories about war and displacement, and presenting human narratives about people living in conflict zones. In recognition of her journalism, El Sayed received several awards, including the Pimental Fonseca Civil Journalism Award, the World Freedom Hero Award, the Maria Grazia Cutuli International Journalism Award, the Award for Courage in Journalism and the Token of Human Rights from the
United Nations. In 2025, she was nominated for
Index on Censorship's Freedom of Expression Award. El Sayed and her family evacuated on foot to
Khan Yunis and later
Rafah, before her father was able to pay for them to be transported to
Egypt, where they sought asylum. Between October 2023 and January 2024, El Sayed kept a diary of her experiences, which were later published in
Prospect and
The Nation. As of January 2024, El Sayed and her family live in
Cairo. She is prohibited from working due to Al Jazeera being banned in Egypt since
2011. Since leaving Gaza, El Sayed has criticised international journalists of not doing enough to seek entry to enter Gaza to report on the war, stating they had let go of their principles of
freedom of speech and using the excuse of a "lack of information" and "not enough Western journalists entering the Gaza Strip" to not report on what was happening there. International journalists are prohibited from entering Gaza unless they are supervised by the Israeli Defence Force. El Sayed has also criticised the dehumanisation of Palestinians by international journalists, including describing
Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl killed in Gaza City by an Israeli tank, as a "young woman". == References ==