Apparently many people were killed in airstrikes on the center of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. One of the best-known journalists in the enclave also reported on this. What he didn’t know was that his family had also been murdered.
Wael Dahdouh is what is called a veteran in the media world. The correspondent is one of the best-known journalistic faces in the Arab world. The Palestinian has been reporting from the Gaza Strip for the Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera for decades and heads the local office.
When work becomes personal
On Wednesday he was in front of the camera again. Wearing a helmet and bulletproof vest, he reported on numerous Israeli air raids. The experienced journalist has been doing this for over twenty years.
What the reporter didn’t know at the time was that one of the explosions Dahdouh reported on that day had apparently killed his family. According to his employer, he lost his wife, his son, his daughter and his newborn grandson in a matter of moments.
Al-Jazeera blames Israel for death. The station reports that the journalist’s family was killed in an attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp. Israel did not deny the attack in its initial response. The Israeli military said only that it was “reviewing” the reports. The reporter apparently learned of his family’s death over the air, as evidenced by audio recordings.
Since then, besides the pain, there is one thing he can’t get rid of: his colleagues’ cameras.
Dark hours live on camera
Video footage shows the journalist being escorted through the corridors of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital to his family. Surrounded by enthusiastic people. Dahdouh continues to breathe heavily and hold back his tears. He is taken to a tent filled with body bags, including that of his son.
Al-Jazeera accompanied the journalist:
Dahdouh falls to his knees and begins to caress his dead child’s face. His colleagues report on social media that he wanted to become a journalist like his father. During the bitterest moments of his life, microphones and cameras are repeatedly held in front of the journalist’s face. Crying, he asks the cameras: “Are you taking revenge by killing our children?” The video was distributed by the Qatari broadcaster on all platforms.
The journalist’s entire grieving process goes along with it. Other images show him holding up the body of his seven-year-old daughter Sham, whose face is covered in blood. You also hear how the reporter is desperate for answers that he will probably never get: “You said this is the safe zone!”
Dahdouh’s family had left the northern Gaza Strip after Israel called on more than a million Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate the area ahead of an expected ground invasion. They moved to Nuseirat, one of the areas Israel considers safe zones.
According to media reports, the Israeli government has issued an emergency decree to temporarily halt the work of foreign media in exceptional cases. In concrete terms, these are channels that damage ‘national security’, as the ‘Times of Israel’ reported last Friday. In concrete terms, it is about Al-Jazeera.
Israel accuses the broadcaster of “incitement”.
Israel accuses the broadcaster, which is funded by the emirate of Qatar, of biased reporting. Al-Jazeera’s programs and reports constituted “incitement against Israel.” The reporting helped terrorist organizations such as Hamas spread their “propaganda” and promoted violence against Israel, the report said in a statement. The Gaza reports in particular are tendentious.
The Dahdouh case is causing great emotion in the Arab world. Al Jazeera correspondent Youmna Elsayed said it was “heartbreaking” to report on his family and “see how broken” he is. Other journalists broke down in tears live while reporting on the tragedy.
Dahdouh gave an interview to Al Jazeera hours after learning his family had been murdered. He wants to continue reporting from the Gaza Strip, as he has done for the past decades: “When we carry out our duties, we do so with the utmost professionalism – in the midst of corpses and wounded and in the midst of destruction. “, the reporter explains. “We work in such a way that we record everything that happens on site, without falsifying or even exaggerating.”
His colleagues say: “His revenge is telling the truth.” Words of hatred did not pass his lips.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
