Hamza Dahdouh, the eldest son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dahdouh, has been killed by an Israeli missile strike within the western a part of Khan Younis, Gaza.
Journalist Mustafa Thuraya was additionally killed within the assault, when the car they had been travelling in close to al-Mawasi, a supposedly secure space in the direction of the southwest, was struck by the missile. A 3rd passenger, Hazem Rajab, was critically injured.
In keeping with experiences from Al Jazeera correspondents, Hamza and Mustafa’s car was focused as they had been attempting to interview civilians displaced by earlier bombings.
Hamza, 27, was a journalist like his father. Mustafa was additionally in his 20s.
Talking from the cemetery the place his son had been laid to relaxation, Wael appeared subdued but resigned, saying he was one of many droves of individuals in Gaza at the moment who’re bidding bitter farewells to their family members every single day.
He vowed to stay on his path of displaying the world what is occurring in Gaza, regardless of the ache of 1 loss after one other.
“Hamza was every thing to me, the eldest boy, he was the soul of my soul… these are the tears of parting and loss, the tears of humanity,” he mentioned.
The Al Jazeera Media Community strongly condemned the assault, including: “The assassination of Mustafa and Hamza … while they had been on their method to perform their obligation within the Gaza Strip, reaffirms the necessity to take rapid essential authorized measures towards the occupation forces to make sure that there is no such thing as a impunity.”
Reacting to the information, Gaza’s media workplace condemned the killing of the 2 journalists, denouncing “within the strongest phrases this heinous crime”.
Steady ache
Hamza was extraordinarily connected to his household and was devastated when he heard on October 25 that an Israeli raid had hit the home his household was sheltering at within the Nuseirat refugee camp.
He came upon shortly after that his mom Amna, brother Mahmoud, 15, sister Sham, 7, and nephew Adam, 1, had been killed in the Israeli attack. His grief after their loss appeared to encourage him to work tougher on overlaying the battle on Gaza, based on his colleague.
As information of Hamza’s killing unfold, his spouse of 1 yr rushed to the cemetery, as did his surviving siblings, for one final look earlier than he was buried.
Wael stood by his son’s head, consoling the remainder of his household as they tried to understand the sudden loss.
His composure and energy have made Wael Dahdoud far more than the Al Jazeera Arabic bureau chief in Gaza. He’s the face of the channel’s protection of Israel’s battle on Gaza and an emblem of the resilience of Gaza’s folks.
When he misplaced his spouse, son, daughter, and grandson to the Israeli air raid on the finish of October, the world watched, aghast, as he bumped into the hospital the place the our bodies of his 4 family members had been moved.
After saying his emotional goodbyes to his kids, grandchild, and life associate, he additionally appeared extra decided than ever to carry out his job.
Then in mid-December, he was badly injured in an assault that killed his colleague Samer Abudaqa, however he was once more out and about overlaying the information shortly after.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has documented the killing of 102 journalists and the harm of 71 others by Israeli forces since hostilities started in October.
The record of Al Jazeera journalists and employees who’ve misplaced members of their households or have died themselves can also be rising.
In December, Anas al-Sharif lost his father to an Israeli air raid that struck his household’s home in Jabalia.
A number of days earlier, on December 6, Moamen Al Sharafi, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, had 22 members of his family killed when an Israeli assault hit the home they had been sheltering in on the Jabalia refugee camp.
In late October, broadcast engineer Mohamed Abu Al-Qumsan lost 19 members of his family, together with his father and two sisters, throughout Israeli air raids on the identical refugee camp.
