Al Jazeera Journalists Have Given A Powerful Statement Not Backing Down And Calling Media To Do Better
Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza Wael al-Dahdouh called on journalists around the world to be united as one body and take serious action to stop the killing of more of their colleagues.
Al Jazeera’s journalists gave powerful speeches condemning Israel’s assassination of five of its journalists in Gaza and calling on international media to act.
On Sunday, Aug. 10, ahead of its planned full take over of Gaza, Israel targeted and killed the network’s entire team in Gaza, including beloved journalist Anas Al-Sharif with correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh, camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa, along with freelance journalist Mohammad Al-Khaldi, in an airstrike on the journalists’ tent.
Israel had been leading a public smear campaign against Sharif for over a year, calling him a member of Hamas, but it intensified its threats on July 20, after he broke down during a live broadcast about the famine in Gaza.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) then issued on July 24 a statement saying it was deeply worried for Sharif’s life, warning the smear campaign, based on false information, could be a precursor to his assassination.
Israeli forces confirmed in a statement after the airstrike that it had deliberately targeted and killed Sharif, claiming he was the head of a “Hamas terrorist cell.”
On Monday, Aug. 11, Al Jazeera’s journalists in Doha, Qatar, held a vigil to mourn their colleagues, but vowed they will not stop reporting the truth.
“You will continue to see the truth through Al Jazeera’s screen. But Anas Al-Sharif will not visit you today. He will not appear, nor will Mohammed Qreiqeh appear on Al Jazeera's screens in a live broadcast in your homes, and you will not see either of them, exposing the crimes of Israeli bombing of Gaza's houses,” journalist Salma Aljamal said.
She said that Sharif and Qreiqeh and Gaza’s journalists have reshaped the global image of Palestine and showed the world who “the child killers and the racist executioners” are in the region.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Gaza, Wael al-Dahdouh, who was himself threatened and injured by Israeli forces while reporting in Gaza, said that the new concept of journalism is emanating in and from Gaza, saying that its journalists have shown that the values of journalism still exist.
He called on journalists around the world to be united as one body and take serious action to stop the killing of more of their colleagues.
The journalists demanded that the killers be held accountable, saying “journalism is not a crime” and pledged to continue covering Israel's genocide in Gaza with the utmost professionalism.
Israel has been systematically targeting and killing journalists in Gaza, particularly those from Al Jazeera.
It has killed Dahdouh’s son, Hamza, cameraman Samer Abudaqa, journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, cameraman Rami al-Rifi, journalist Ahmed al-Louh and renowned journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022.
Israel has killed more than 238 Palestinian journalists in Gaza, making it the deadliest period for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began collecting data in 1992.
Among those killed, at least 26 were directly targeted and murdered by Israeli forces.
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