- By Shaimaa Khalil
- BBC News, Jerusalem
January 7, 2024, 12:03 GMT
Updated 21 minutes ago
Image source: X/hamzadah1996
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Hamza Al-Dahdouh (right) and his father Wael Al-Dahdouh
The eldest son of Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief has been killed in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip.
Hamza al-Dahdouh, a journalist and cameraman for the Al Jazeera network, was with other journalists on a road between Khan Younis and Rafah when a drone strike occurred.
Freelance journalist Mustafa Thuraya was also killed.
Four other members of the family of bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh were also killed in October.
His wife Amna, grandson Adam, 15-year-old son Mahmoud and seven-year-old daughter Sham all died in an Israeli attack.
According to Hisham Zaqout, a correspondent for Al Jazeera, Hamza and a group of journalists were on their way to the Moraj area northeast of Rafah – which has been designated a “humanitarian zone” by the Israeli army – but which has reportedly recently been closed Bombings had come.
Many displaced Gazans had fled to the area to avoid bombardment in other regions of the territory. According to Al Jazeera, Hamza had planned to report on the situation and the aftermath of the bombings in the region.
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Wael al-Dahdouh, pictured in his press vest, at his son's funeral
Live footage from Al Jazeera showed the aftermath of the attack on the car in which they were traveling.
It also showed his father Wael al-Dahdouh in tears, holding his hand and standing next to his body in a mortuary in Khan Younis. He was buried in the southern city of Rafah.
“Hamza wasn’t just a part of me. He was the whole of me. He was the soul of my soul. These are tears of sadness, of loss. These are tears of humanity,” his father said at the funeral.
“I call on the world to pay close attention to what is happening in Gaza.”
Wael al-Dahdouh himself was injured and his cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa was killed in a separate attack during filming last month.
Mr. al-Dahdouh, who has eight children, continued to report on the war in Gaza.
Hamza al-Dahdouh had one million followers on Instagram. His last post before his murder was about his father. “They are steadfast and patient. Do not despair of God's mercy. Be sure that he will reward you,” he said.
Al Jazeera condemned the killing, calling it an “attack” on Palestinian journalists in Gaza.
“Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns the attacks by Israeli occupation forces on the car of Palestinian journalists,” the company said in a statement, accusing Israel of “violating the principles of press freedom.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hamza al-Dahdouh's death was “an unimaginable tragedy.”
He added that “far too many innocent Palestinian men, women and children” had died in the war.
The BBC has contacted the IDF for comment.
Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told the BBC's “World This Weekend” that “Israel does not deliberately target journalists.”
“We are the only country in the Middle East that actually has a free press. We are the only country in the entire region where the press can write bad things and criticize government leaders,” he said.
“To say that Israel is deliberately targeting the press is ridiculous. We are the only country that actually enshrines the free press.”
More than 75 journalists have been killed since the war in Gaza began.
More than 22,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.