Al Jazeera says Israeli attack killed journalist in Gaza

Palestinian Territories – AFP

An Israeli attack killed an Al Jazeera journalist and wounded his colleague in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Qatari network reported.

Al Jazeera had initially reported that cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa and Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh were wounded in a school in Khan Yunis, where they were hit by “shrapnel from an Israeli missile attack”.

In a subsequent statement condemning the Israeli military, Al Jazeera attributed the injuries to a drone strike.

“Following Samer’s injury, he was left to bleed to death for over 5 hours, as Israeli forces prevented ambulances and rescue workers from reaching him, denying the much-needed emergency treatment,” it said.

Al-Dahdouh was wounded in the arm and transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, according to an AFP journalist.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

– ‘A compassionate soul’ –

Al Jazeera managing editor Mohamed Moawad paid tribute to Abu Daqqa on X, formerly Twitter, saying: “His unwavering commitment to truth and storytelling has left an indelible mark on our team.

“Samer, whose lens captured the raw and unfiltered reality of life in Gaza, was not just a skilled professional but a compassionate soul who understood the power of visual storytelling.

“In the pursuit of truth, our cameraman faced immense risks to bring viewers a deeper understanding of the human experience in Gaza,” Moawad said.

The Foreign Press Association called on the Israeli army to investigate.

“We consider this a grave blow to the already limited freedom of the press in Gaza,” it said in a statement.

According to Hamas, a first strike had targeted a school belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Khan Yunis, which the journalists had come to cover.

A second strike then took place which “deliberately targeted the journalists”, Hamas said.

It was an “attempt to intimidate journalists so that they do not document the (Israeli) massacres committed in the Gaza Strip”, Hamas said.

Al Jazeera said it held “Israel accountable for systematically targeting and killing Al Jazeera journalists and their families”.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a press briefing that “we still don’t have any indications” that Israel is “deliberately going after journalists trying to cover this war”.

In late October, footage showed Al-Dahdouh learning on camera that his wife and two children were killed by an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

More than 60 journalists and media staff have died since Israel began its war against the people of Gaza.