Israeli Strike Kills Two More Journalists: Mustafa Thuraya & Hamza al-Dahdouh
HAVANA TIMES – Israel’s war continues to take a devastating toll on Palestinian journalists. By one count, 110 journalists have been killed in Gaza over the past three months. On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza killed two journalists: Mustafa Thuraya and Hamza al-Dahdouh. Hamza was the eldest son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael al-Dahdouh, who had already lost his wife, daughter, another son and a grandson in an Israeli airstrike in October. In December, Wael was injured himself in a drone strike that killed his cameraperson, Samer Abudaqa. On Sunday, Wael al-Dahdouh decried the Israeli attacks on his family and the people of Gaza.
Wael Dahdouh: “The world must see with their own eyes, and not with Israel’s eyes. It must listen and watch all that is happening to the Palestinian people. What has Hamza done to them? And what has my family done to them? What have civilians in the Gaza Strip done to them? They have not done anything. The world is blinded by what is going on in Gaza.”
Al Jazeera journalist Hind Khoudary broke down crying on air as she talked about the death of her friend and colleague Hamza al-Dahdouh.
Hind Khoudary: “Hamza was a very beautiful man and journalist and friend. And I don’t want to cry, but I’m reporting this right now because I know that if Hamza was here, he wanted me to report, and he wanted all of his colleagues to report and to continue reporting. And I’m so proud at Hamza and everything he did and everything he reported during the 90 days and more than 90 days, and how he was very strong despite everything he went through with his father. Hamza was a great friend for everyone. And our tears today is because we miss him, and we’re going to miss him, and we’re going to miss his smile.”