Israel has killed more than 112 journalists and media workers in Gaza since the start of the genocidal war on October 7.
Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dahdouh, landed in Qatar on Tuesday night for medical treatment after sustaining an injury in his arm during an Israeli attack on December 15 and after occupation forces killed five of his family members.
The renowned journalist first went to Egypt through the shared Rafah Crossing with Gaza before arriving in Qatar on an Emiri Air Force jet. Dahdouh was greeted by Al Jazeera’s members, including his lifelong colleague, Tamer Almisshal.
Dahdouh was injured on December 15 in an Israeli airstrike at the Farhana school in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, where Al Jazeera’s cameraman, Samer Abu Daqqa, was killed.
Abu Daqqa succumbed to his injuries after Israel left him to bleed for six hours by preventing medics from reaching him with nonstop bombing and the ambulances had to receive prior approval to reach him.
Al Jazeera referred the case to the International Criminal Court, the network announced in a statement on December 16.
Dahdouh has become the face and voice of Palestinians in Gaza since the start of Israel’s war for his round-the-clock coverage on the ground. Israel targeted Dahdouh and his family throughout his coverage of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, where occupation forces have killed 24,285 Palestinians.
On October 25, Israel killed Dahdouh’s wife, 15-year-old son, seven-year-old daughter and infant grandson in a strike in the south, despite Israel announcing the area to be a safe zone before the attack.
Israel then killed Dahdouh’s eldest son, Hamza, on January 7 when it targeted his vehicle in Gaza alongside Palestinian journalist Mustafa Thurayya.
The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was “deeply, deeply sorry” over the “loss” of Hamza at a press conference in Doha on January 7.
Blinken’s remarks came in a joint press conference in Doha with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.
“I am deeply, deeply sorry for the almost unimaginable loss suffered by your colleague, Wael Dahdouh. I am a parent myself, I can’t begin to imagine the horror that he has experienced, not once, but now twice,” Blinken said, without condemning the killing.
The occupation forces attempted to justify the killing by claiming it “identified and struck a terrorist who operated an aircraft in a way that put IDF forces at risk”.
It then backtracked on its remarks when Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari told NBC News that “every journalist that dies, it’s unfortunate.”
Al Jazeera dismissed Israel’s claims as “false and misleading” in a statement it sent to the Middle East Eye on Saturday. The Qatar-based network said it was “considerably surprised” by the accusation.
“[Hamza] like so many journalists before him, was killed simply for doing his job and for shining a light on events that the Israeli army would rather stay in the dark and hidden from scrutiny,” the statement added.
Israel has killed more than 112 journalists and media workers in Gaza since the start of the genocidal war on October 7, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.
