Israeli Strike Kills Celebrated Al Jazeera Reporters
HAVANA TIMES – Al Jazeera reporter Ismail al-Ghoul and camera operator Rami al-Rifi were killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike as they were covering the death of Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City’s Shati camp. Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary broke down on air as she deplored her colleagues’ murder.
Hind Khoudary: “We do everything. We wear our press jackets. We wear our helmets. We try to not go to anywhere where it’s not safe. We try to go to anywhere where to keep our security. But we have been targeted in normal places where normal citizens are. We’re trying to do everything, but at the same time we want to report. We want to tell the world what’s going on. It’s heartbreaking to report this today, and it’s heartbreaking to report Shireen’s killing, Hamza’s killing and Samer’s killing. And this is not the first time we’re doing this, but every time it feels as if it’s the first time. It’s a great loss for us here, journalists in Gaza, and especially Al Jazeera’s team losing such a colleague.”
Al Jazeera pledged to pursue justice for its slain reporters and the more than 160 journalists who have been killed while covering the war on Gaza. Al Jazeera’s managing editor, Mohamed Moawad, posted a message he had recently received from Ismail al-Ghoul. It read, in part, “Let me tell you, my friend, that I no longer know the taste of sleep. The bodies of children and the screams of the injured and their blood-soaked images never leave my sight. The cries of mothers and the wailing of men who are missing their loved ones never fade from my hearing.” Al-Ghoul added, “I am tired, my friend.”