Israeli strike kills son of Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Gaza
The eldest son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief has been killed in an Israeli strike in southern Gaza, weeks after several other members of his immediate family died in a separate bombing.
Hamza al-Dahdouh, himself an Al Jazeera journalist and cameraman, was travelling with other reporters in southern Gaza when he was struck by a drone.
Mustafa Thuraya, a freelance journalist, was also killed and a third reporter was wounded.
A video posted online showed Wael al-Dahdouh crying next to his son’s body and kissing his hand. Later, after his son’s burial, he said that journalists in Gaza would keep doing their job.
“All the world needs to see what is happening here,” he said.
Mr Dahdouh is well known to viewers across the Middle East after he learned during a live broadcast in October that his wife, 15-year-old son, seven-year-old daughter and one-year-old grandson had been killed in an Israeli air strike. Eight members of his extended family were also killed.
“Nothing is harder than the pain of loss. And when you experience this pain time after time, it becomes harder and more severe,” Mr Dahdouh said on Sunday.
According to Hisham Zaqout, an Al Jazeera correspondent, the three journalists were travelling to the Moraj area northeast of Rafah – designated a “humanitarian zone” by the Israeli army – but which had reportedly experienced recent bombings.
Hamza had been planning to report on the aftermath of the bombings in the area, including a strike on a house, according to Al Jazeera.
Footage broadcast by Al Jazeera showed the aftermath of the strike on the car they had been travelling in, and a body covered in blood being moved.
“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,” Mr Dahdouh said at the funeral.
In December, Mr Dahdouh was also wounded during filming and treated for shrapnel wounds. His cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa was killed.
The Israel-Hamas war that started on Oct 7 has been deadly for journalists. The Committee for the Protection of Journalists, an international watchdog, said as of Saturday, 77 journalists and media workers had been killed – 70 Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese.
In a message to his father the day before he died, Hamza wrote on social media: “You are steadfast and patient. Do not despair of God’s mercy. Be certain that he will reward you.”
The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strike.
