Jerusalem CNN –
An Al Jazeera journalist has died after being seriously injured in an Israeli attack in the southern Gaza Strip and then having to wait five hours for medical attention, broadcaster CNN said on Friday.
Cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa died from wounds sustained in the attack, the Qatar-based broadcaster said, adding that heavy shelling in the city left him bleeding for hours before medical personnel could reach him .
Hundreds gathered in southern Gaza on Saturday to mourn Abu Daqqa as his body was laid to rest. His mother Umm Maher knelt, sobbing, to pray over her son's grave.
Al Jazeera correspondent and Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh was also injured in the attack, the Qatar-based news channel said in a statement to CNN on Friday.
Dahdouh was eventually evacuated to a hospital, but Abu Daqqa's injury was too severe to survive, according to Walid Alomari, Al Jazeera's Jerusalem and West Bank bureau chief. “Too many in Gaza are bleeding and dying because ambulances cannot reach them,” he said.
The network went on to accuse Israel of “systematically targeting and killing al Jazeera journalists and their families.”
A statement called on the international community to “take immediate action to hold the Israeli government and military accountable.”
CNN cannot independently verify the allegations.
In response to a CNN request for comment on the network's claim, the IDF press office responded: “The IDF is taking all operationally feasible measures to protect both civilians and journalists.
“The IDF has never and never will target journalists. Given the ongoing exchange of fire, remaining in an active combat zone carries risks. The IDF will continue to counter threats while insisting on limiting damage to civilians.”
In a later statement responding to CNN's reporting, the IDF said an ambulance had been dispatched to Abu Daqqa to help, but it had “encountered road damage” and was unable to reach the scene in time. “When we became aware of an injured person and received a request for permission for an ambulance, COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories) granted the ambulance permission to use a safe passageway,” the IDF statement said.
“However, the ambulance chose a different route, causing damage to the road. The IDF responded immediately by sending a bulldozer to help repair the path for the ambulance. Unfortunately, by the time these efforts were completed, it was already too late,” it added.
When asked by CNN how long it took for the ambulance to receive permission to go to the location where Abu Daqqa needed emergency medical attention, the IDF said it could not provide further details.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Abu Daqqa is the first Al Jazeera journalist to be killed in the latest Israel-Hamas conflict since October 7.
According to CPJ, four other Al Jazeera journalists were injured, including three in southern Lebanon and Dahdouh, who also lost his wife, daughter, son and grandson in an attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza in late October.
Abu Daqqa and Dahdouh were operating in the southern city of Khan Younis when they came under fire.
Dahdouh later recounted the moments that led to the incident. He said it took place as they returned to a Palestinian Civil Defense ambulance after finishing filming in a hard-to-reach area of Khan Younis.
“Suddenly something happened, something big, I couldn't say what it was, I just felt something big happening and pushed myself to the ground, the helmet fell and the microphone,” Dahdouh previously told Al Jazeera in his hospital bed it was discovered that his colleague had lost his life.
“I saw that my shoulder and arm were bleeding profusely and I realized that if I stayed, I would bleed in that place and no one would be able to reach me,” he added.
Dahdouh said that although he was able to reach civil defense personnel hundreds of meters away, he was unable to help Abu Daqqa because he feared they would be targeted.
Al Jazeera said on air that Abu Daqqa was bleeding for five hours and no one could reach him due to the situation around him.
At least 17 others were killed and dozens more injured early Friday morning after artillery fire hit the Haifa city school and a dormitory in the area.
According to the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry, three civil defense workers were also killed in Gaza, whose rescue efforts at the school were covered by the Al Jazeera team.
On Saturday, Abu Daqqa's body, wrapped in a white cloth, was carried on the shoulders of the gathered crowd from the Al-Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis to a nearby cemetery. On his chest were the pressure vest and helmet he had been wearing when he was wounded.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
Mourners gather around the body of Al Jazeera cameraman Abu Daqqa on Saturday.
Bassam Masoud/Portal
Friends and relatives attended the funeral.
The funeral was attended by friends, family and colleagues, many of them wearing their press vests. Abu Daqqa's wife and children live in Belgium.
Khan Younis has been heavily bombed by the Israeli military since the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel collapsed on December 1.
As of December 15, preliminary investigations by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found that at least 64 journalists and media workers were among the thousands killed since Israel's siege began on October 7 following deadly Hamas terror attacks in Gaza.
According to CPJ, most of the journalists killed in this war were Palestinian, along with four Israeli and three Lebanese press representatives. Thirteen journalists were also reported injured, 13 are missing and 19 were reportedly arrested, the organization said.
CPJ said Friday it was alarmed by the drone strike that killed Abu Daqqa and injured Dahdouh and called on “international authorities to independently investigate the attack and hold those responsible accountable.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera, CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg reiterated her call for the protection of journalists and emphasized the importance of their work in Gaza, which she described as an “unprecedented” challenge.
“We’re really only left with Gaza journalists doing this really important documentation work,” she said.
Abu Daqqa's colleagues paid tribute to his courage after his death. Al Jazeera investigative reporter Tamer Al-Mishal described him as “professional” and “a great cameraman and editor.” [who] is not afraid of anything.”
“I spoke to him a few days ago and said: 'Why don't you go abroad to be with your family?' And he told me that they will be back soon when this war is over,” Al-Mishal said.
Abu Daqqa has decided not to leave Gaza, Al-Mishal added, pointing out that the cameraman has worked for Al Jazeera for more than 20 years.
Hiba Akila, another colleague of Abu Daqqa, remembered him as a cheerful colleague.
“Samer was not only an optimistic, fun-loving person who loved life, but he was also a journalist who stayed true to his journalistic mission and gave us a lift whenever we felt pain and despair,” said the Al Jazeera correspondent with a broken voice reported live from Rafah on Friday evening.
“As we supported and consoled Samer that he would soon meet his family, he said: 'I won't go to them, they will come here, and we will be in Gaza together,'” she added.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the location where Wael Dahdouh's family was killed. It was the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.