Radiance News
8 January 2024
Journalists Hamza al Dahdouh and Mustafa Abu Thuraya were killed in an Israeli airstrike when a drone targeted their vehicle in Gaza on Sunday. The eldest son of Gaza bureau chief for Al Jazeera, Wael al Dahdouh, was also an Al Jazeera network journalist and cameraperson. Mustafa Abu Thuraya was a freelance journalist who worked with AFP. They were killed on a road between Khan Younis and Rafah. A third passenger, Hazem Rajab, was seriously injured.
Notably, four other members of Wael al-Dahdouh’s family were also killed in October, including his wife Amna, his grandchild Adam, his 15-year-old son Mahmoud and seven-year-old daughter Sham, who all were targeted by an Israeli airstrike.
Scenes of Dahdouh offering the janaza (funeral)prayer over his son, as he had done for his other family members circulated on social media on Sunday. According to Hisham Zaqout, an Al Jazeera correspondent, the group of journalists were on their way to the Moraj area northeast of Rafah, which was designated a “humanitarian zone” by the occupying Israeli army – but which had reportedly experienced recent bombings. Al Dahdouh was seen at the morgue holding his son’s hand before he was buried in Rafah.
“Hamza was not just part of me. He was the whole of me. He was the soul of my soul. These are tears of sadness, of loss. These are tears of humanity,” he said at the funeral, adding that he called upon the world yet again to look closely at the happenings in Gaza.
Wael al Dahdouh was himself wounded last month and cameraperson Samir al Daqqa was killed in an attack when they were filming. Al Dahdouh had the injured hand still strapped and bandaged on Sunday. Dahdouh has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance as he has continued reporting despite losing his family. Hamza al Dahdouh, who had over a million followers on Instagram, had uploaded a story on Sunday where he had addressed a letter to his father, writing, “You are steadfast and patient. Do not despair of God’s mercy. Be certain that he will reward you.”
It has been observed that the Israeli army has deliberately targeted journalists and their families. However, the IDF has repeatedly denied this. The Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemned the attack, saying: “The assassination of Hamza and Mustafa reaffirms the need to take immediate necessary legal measures against the occupation forces to ensure that there is no impunity.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists has also called for an independent investigation into an Israeli drone strike that killed the journalists.
