Earlier this week, Israeli forces killed journalists Hamza al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya in a drone strike in southern Gaza. Hamza was the son of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Wael al-Dahdouh, who many of us have come to rely upon for honest, up-to-date reporting on the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
As with so many other Palestinian families, this is not the first tragedy to befall Wael. On October 25, I watched him being interviewed at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital where he had learned that his wife Amna, son Mahmoud, daughter Sham and grandson Adam had been killed in an Israeli air strike.
The family had been forced to flee to Nuseirat refugee camp from their home in Gaza city following Israeli bombings in their neighbourhood. Mahmoud was 15 years old, Sham was seven and baby Adam just a year and a half. They are just three of the more than 10,000 children who have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7. Wael’s family went to the area where the Israelis had told them to go, and then they killed them anyway.
For English speakers, here is the first message on social media,from @WaelDahdouh after Israel killed his son Hamza. pic.twitter.com/howq0n5XRF
— Walid Mahmoud (@WalidMahmodRouk) January 8, 2024
Hamza al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya were killed in an Israeli air strike on their vehicle as they travelled on assignment for Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse (AFP) through the western part of Khan Younis – another so-called safe zone.
Since October 7, the Committee to Protect Journalists has documented and confirmed that at least 79 journalists and media workers have been killed. Other cases are still under investigation, awaiting confirmation. Scores of journalists have also been injured and arrested. Others are missing, feared dead or detained by the Israeli military. The Palestinian Authority puts the number of journalists killed at over a hundred.
The journalists still living and working in Gaza who continue to bear witness to what happens every day ensure that the world cannot ignore the extermination of the Palestinian people, the enforced starvation, the displacement and decimation of infrastructure
The Israeli military told Reuters and AFP in October that it could not guarantee the safety of their journalists operating in the Gaza strip, after they sought assurances that their journalists would not be targeted in Israeli strikes.
The result of this policy has been the single biggest death toll for journalists in a conflict zone for decades. Some estimate that one in 10 journalists in Gaza have been killed to date.
The Israeli propaganda machine claimed that the drone strike which killed Hamza al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya was targeting a “terrorist” inside the car who was operating a drone which they claimed was putting Israeli forces at risk. But it is a fact that since the beginning of the bombardment of Gaza, journalists have been using drone footage to document the destruction of entire communities.
Israel has claimed it does not proactively target journalists and takes measures to mitigate unintended harm to journalists and civilians, and that it targets all Hamas military activity throughout Gaza. The old “collateral damage” argument.
This position is simply not good enough. It violates the principles of freedom of the press and fails to acknowledge the accepted international view that journalists are civilians and not targets.
Having admitted to targeting these two journalists, an independent international investigation needs to take place and those responsible for their deaths must be held accountable. It should have happened when Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was deliberately shot and killed by the Israeli military in May 2022 when reporting on a raid on Jenin refugee camp. The fact that Israel was able to act with impunity then has emboldened it to continue to target journalists now.
The journalists still living and working in Gaza who continue to bear witness to what happens every day ensure that the world cannot ignore the extermination of the Palestinian people, the enforced starvation, the displacement and decimation of infrastructure. They do not just report the bombs, but they document their own daily struggles to find water, food, shelter and safety.
Wael al-Dahdouh has said that he will keep reporting in honour of his family. “As long as we are alive and as long as we are able to perform this duty, we will do so without hesitation because it is a noble, holy and humanitarian message.”
If only more political leaders had his courage.