The Palestinian Journalist Whose Family Were Killed By Israeli Airstrikes Has Been Wounded By An Airstrike
An Israeli missile injured Wael Dahdouh and his cameraman Samer Abudaqa, who died after medical teams were unable to reach him due to Israeli fire.
An Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza has wounded Al Jazeera Arabic’s bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Dahdouh, whose wife and children were killed at the beginning of the war, and killed his cameraman Samer Abudaqa.
Dahdouh and Abudaqa had been reporting in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Friday Dec. 15, following an Israeli strike on a UN-run school with displaced people, Middle East Eye reported.
While reporting on-the-ground, the two were injured by an Israeli missile launched from a drone, according to Reuters.
An Al Jazeera colleague said that Abudaqa had been injured by shrapnel and medical teams were unable to reach him for hours due to Israel continuing to fire on the school.
An Al Jazeera colleague said that Abudaqa had been injured by shrapnel and medical teams were unable to reach him for hours due to Israel continuing to fire on the school.
A video posted on social media showed doctors treating Dahdouh, who had been hit by shrapnel on his right arm.
Al Jazeera said Dahdouh’s injuries did not appear life-threatening, but Dahdouh said that Abudaqa was “critically injured.”
Abudaqa died a few hours later.
“We condemn the attack and reiterate our demand that journalists’ lives must be safeguarded,” the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said on Twitter.
#Palestine🇵🇸: We are deeply shocked to learn that journalist @WaelDahdouh and camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa have been injured while covering an earlier Israeli attack on a school. We condemn the attack and reiterate our demand that journalists’ lives must be safeguarded. https://t.co/mjJvgEXJ3z
— IFJ (@IFJGlobal) December 15, 2023
He had moved his family from Gaza City to the refugee camp, after Israel ordered Palestinians to evacuate south for their safety, while he remained behind to report.
Footage of Dahdouh crying and touching the face of his son, Mahmoud, and cradling the body of his daughter, Sham, at the morgue at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, went viral.
The next day, Dahdouh went back to work, sharing a video on his social media pledging to keep reporting on Gaza.
His story has resonated with people all around the world, and he has since become one of most prominent journalists associated with their coverage of Gaza.
On Wednesday Nov. 15, Israeli military began dropping leaflets warning residents in Khan Younis and nearby towns to evacuate once again “for their own safety.”
Once considered a safe zone for people evacuating from the fight in the north, Khan Younis, the biggest city in southern Gaza, has become a “a dangerous combat zone” according to Israeli forces.
