Al Jazeera accuses Israel of ‘persecuting’ journalists in Gaza after two reporters’ deaths

Emotion and anger dominated the Al Jazeera newsroom this Sunday. A Qatari satellite channel has accused the Israeli army of “targeting” Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip after two reporters working for it were killed in a strike attributed to Israel.

Hamza Wael Dadou, the son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael al-Dahdu and Mustafa Thuraya, a freelance videographer working with AFP, were killed on Sunday while traveling by car in Rafah, on the southern tip of the Palestinian territory. A third journalist who was traveling with them, Hazem Rajab, was seriously injured.

“Al Jazeera strongly condemns the attack by Israeli occupying forces on the vehicle of Palestinian journalists,” the channel said in a statement, accusing Israel of “violating the principles of press freedom.” It is an “unimaginable tragedy,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said from Qatar as he began a new tour of the region.

The Israeli army claimed responsibility for the shooting, telling AFP that it had “shot down a terrorist who was piloting an aircraft that poses a threat to troops” and that it was “aware of information that two other suspects were in the same area at the time of the strike.” car were also injured.”

The deaths bring to at least 79 the number of journalists and media workers, mostly Palestinians, killed since October 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“Killing Hatred”

“Hamza was everything to me…” Wael al-Dahduh responded to the TV channel. “Although we are full of humanity, they (Israel) are full of murderous hatred,” he continued.

“I hope that the last blood of my son Hamza will be shed for journalists and the people of the Gaza Strip,” he added from the hospital, where he hugged his son’s remains in tears, surrounded by relatives. and journalists.

Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief had already lost his wife and two children in another Israeli strike in the first weeks of the war.

Later that day, many people gathered for the funeral. “The world should look with two eyes, not with one eye of Israel, it should see everything that is happening to the Palestinian people (…), but the world turns a blind eye to what is happening in the Gaza Strip,” said Wael al-Dahduh. , who was seen kissing the hand of his murdered son.

In December, he himself was wounded in an Israeli strike that also killed Al Jazeera videographer Samer Abu Dakka. The Qatari channel has lost three journalists since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.

They went to the scene of the explosion

Mustafa Thuraya, about 30 years old, has worked with AFP since 2019. He also worked with Reuters and AP, as well as Qatar’s Al Jazeera and America’s CNN, his AFP colleagues said.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) asked for a reaction from the Israeli army, which asked for the exact “coordinates” of the strike. Hours after the incident, she did not respond to requests for comment.

Both journalists went to the site of the strike in Rafah, on the southern tip of the Gaza Strip. On the way back they were mortally wounded by a blow. Witnesses told AFP that two rockets were fired at the car, one hitting the front of the car and the other hitting Hamza, who was sitting next to the driver.

“Then we found the body parts (of those in the car). An ambulance arrived and took away those in the car,” a witness, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, told AFP.

At least 77 journalists have been killed since October 7

“We are shocked by the news of the death in Gaza of Mustafa Thuraya (…) Hamza Wael Daduh (…) It appears that an Israeli strike hit their car (…),” the secretary wrote to the director general of the NGO Reporters Without. Boundaries.

The Hamas press office said in a statement “to condemn this heinous crime committed by the Israeli occupation army to intimidate (journalists, editor’s note) and prevent media coverage of the conflict.”

As of December 31, at least 77 journalists and media workers have been killed since the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas began in the Gaza Strip on October 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Among these journalists, 70 were Palestinians, four were Israelis and three were Lebanese.