riends and colleagues have paid tribute to Samer Abudaqa, an Al Jazeera journalist killed in an Israeli assault within the Gaza Strip.
Al Jazeera confirmed on Friday that Abudaqa, a cameraman for Al Jazeera Arabic in Gaza, had been hit by an Israeli assault whereas reporting at a college in Khan Younis.
His colleague Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Wael Dahdouh, who misplaced his spouse, son, daughter and grandson in a previous Israeli bombing, was wounded within the assault.
“Al Jazeera holds the Israeli Occupation Forces totally accountable for Samer’s security, deeming this incident a deliberate try to focus on its correspondents and their households within the Gaza Strip,” Al Jazeera stated in a press release.
Abudaqa and Dahdouh had labored tirelessly to cowl the battle between Israel and Hamas, paying particular consideration to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, the place Israeli siege and bombardment have displaced greater than 80 % of the inhabitants and plunged the enclave right into a humanitarian disaster.
Colleagues at Al Jazeera remembered Abudaqa as an exemplary journalist and a caring man, a father of 4 who was beloved by those that labored alongside him.
“He was very near me. We have been sharing meals and drinks collectively at evening, typically he simply got here to me looking for something he might do to assist us, [to ask us], ‘What would you prefer to eat for dinner?’” Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah in southern Gaza.
“He requested me on a regular basis about my members of the family, about how I really feel, what are the latest updates on the bottom; he was actually a brother earlier than he was a colleague.”
Azzoum stated that Abudaqa had hoped to reunite with members of his household after the battle.
“Typically, he confirmed me pictures of his children, saying, ‘That is my eldest son,’ ‘This my youngest one,’ ‘This one is the prettiest,’” he stated.
“He would add humorous moments and pleasure to all of our gatherings,” Al Jazeera’s Heba Akila stated. “Samer was an exquisite human.”
“There isn’t a place that’s spared. There isn’t a protected place. There isn’t a immunity for anybody,” she added.
Dahdouh was dropped at a close-by hospital for remedy, however medical staff have been prevented from reaching Abudaqa resulting from Israeli bombardment, Al Jazeera stated.
“We captured the devastating destruction and reached locations that had not been reached by any digital camera lens for the reason that Israeli floor operation began,” Dahdouh stated from his hospital mattress, noting that he felt “one thing huge” that knocked him again onto the bottom.
“I’m attempting to assemble my energy to proceed with you what we began on the primary day of this battle. Regardless of every thing, I count on that I can be in a position be with you reside on tv,” he added.
4 Al Jazeera journalists have misplaced members of the family within the Israeli assault on Gaza for the reason that battle started on October 7. Abudaqa is the primary Al Jazeera journalist to be killed.
Al Jazeera has known as on the worldwide group to carry Israel accountable for assaults on reporters.
Earlier than Abudaqa’s loss of life on Friday, the Committee to Shield Journalists reported that at the least 63 reporters and media staff have been killed for the reason that combating started on October 7, 56 of them Palestinian, 4 Israeli, and three Lebanese.
“I believe that is now a press freedom subject. I believe now we have to ask ourselves ‘What’s the [Israeli military] are attempting to realize? Why gained’t they let overseas journalists in?” Tim Dawson, deputy basic secretary of the Worldwide Federation of Journalists, instructed Al Jazeera.
“We all know that a terrific many Palestinian journalists have been focused, a lot of them have instructed me that personally, which is a terrifying and unforgivable prospect.”