Journalists make up nearly 190 out of at least 43,799 killed in the Gaza Strip by Israel since the beginning of the genocide.
The mother of critically wounded Al Jazeera cameraman, Fadi Al-Wahidi who was injured in the Gaza Strip, has gone on a hunger strike, demanding that the Israeli occupation forces permit his urgent medical evacuation.
In a widely-circulated video on social media on Saturday, Hiba Al-Wahidi, the mother of Al-Wahidi and a cancer patient herself, announced her hunger strike.
“There is no hope other than him going abroad for treatment,” she said in the video, published by Al Jazeera on Friday evening. “I will go on a hunger strike, even though I also have cancer.”
Israeli occupation forces had deliberately shot the 24-year-old cameraman in the neck on October 9 during intensified attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp in the besieged northern Gaza.
Al-Wahidi then entered a coma on October 17 as a result of his critical injuries while waiting for Israeli authorities to approve his medical evacuation. Journalists and social media users have since launched an online campaign demanding his evacuation under the hashtag “#SaveFadiAlWahidiFromDeath”.
Hiba said her son’s condition is “worsening everyday”, fearing that her son may die at any moment while awaiting Israel’s approval for medical evacuation.
“As a mother, I am calling on everyone to save Fadi’s life[…]I may lose my life as well. I will stop my treatment, stop eating and stop drinking water unless Fadi is taken abroad for treatment,” she said.
Medical evacuations have been suspended ever since Israeli occupation forces invaded, destroyed and occupied the vital Egypt-Gaza Rafah Crossing on May 6.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s cameraman Ali Al-Attar has been in a coma after he was targeted two days before Al-Wahidi was shot. The Qatar-based network and rights organisations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have been calling for their medical evacuation.
In a joint statement on October 15, CPJ, alongside Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), demanded the evacuation of both journalists.
The letter, addressed to Israeli authorities, came following numerous diplomatic efforts and direct appeals, calling on Israel to expedite the “approval for the journalists’ medical evacuation to Jordan or Qatar”.
“The Israeli military’s duty under international humanitarian law is to protect civilians, including journalists, and to ensure the wounded receive timely medical assistance,” the organisations wrote.
They added: “Targeting journalists is a clear violation of international law relating to situations of armed conflict. We respectfully ask for your immediate intervention to facilitate the necessary permissions for this evacuation.”
Israel has deliberately targeted Al Jazeera staff and bureaus throughout Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, due to its coverage of grave Israeli violations and occupation policies against Palestinians.
Israel has targeted and killed the network’s journalists and their families on several occasions as well as its facilities under a wider pattern of targeting the press in the blockaded territory.
Journalists make up nearly 190 out of at least 43,799 killed in the Gaza Strip by Israel since the beginning of the genocide.
The figure by Palestinian authorities is an undercount of the actual death toll with thousands still missing or trapped under the rubble.
In the West Bank, Israeli occupation forces raided Al Jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah on September 22 and ordered it to shut down for 45 days.
The raid came four months after the Israeli government shut down Al Jazeera’s office in Jerusalem and banned it from broadcasting for an initial period of 45 days, which it has since renewed several times.
