Son of Report Wael Dahdouh Martyred in “Israeli” Attack in Gaza

By Staff, Agencies

Hamza Dahdouh, the eldest son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dahdouh, has been martyred by an “Israeli” missile strike in the western part of Khan Younis, Gaza.

Journalist Mustafa Thuraya was also killed in the attack, when the vehicle they were travelling in near al-Mawasi, a supposedly safe area towards the southwest, was struck by the missile. A third passenger, Hazem Rajab, was seriously injured.

According to reports from Al Jazeera correspondents, Hamza and Mustafa’s vehicle was targeted as they were trying to interview civilians displaced by previous bombings.

Hamza, 27, was a journalist like his father. Mustafa was also in his 20s.

Speaking from the cemetery where his son had been laid to rest, Wael seemed subdued yet resigned, saying he was one of the droves of people in Gaza today who are bidding bitter farewells to their loved ones every day.

He vowed to remain on his path of showing the world what is happening in Gaza, despite the pain of one loss after another.

“Hamza was everything 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 said.

The Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemned the attack, adding: “The assassination of Mustafa and Hamza … whilst they were on their way to carry out their duty in the Gaza Strip, reaffirms the need to take immediate necessary legal measures against the occupation forces to ensure that there is no impunity.”

Reacting to the news, Gaza’s media office condemned the killing of the two journalists, denouncing “in the strongest terms this heinous crime”.

Wael Dahdouh lost his wife, son, daughter, and grandson to the “Israeli” air raid at the end of October.

Then in mid-December, he was badly injured in an attack that killed his colleague Samer Abudaqa, but he was again out and about covering the news shortly after.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has documented the killing of 102 journalists and the injury of 71 others by “Israeli” forces since hostilities began in October.