Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh has been reporting from Khan Younis after burying his son Hamza, who was killed in an Israeli drone strike yesterday along with another journalist, Mustafa Thuraya.
Dima Al Khatib, the Managing Director of AJ+ Channels, has posted on social media saying: “His nickname in Arabic: the mountain (Al Jabal). Calm and strong, Wael Dahdouh, live from Gaza, after burying his eldest son.”
In a statement, Al Jazeera accuses Israel of a “targeted killing” after the two journalists were killed in an Israeli strike on their car.
The statement says they were killed while they were “on their way to carry out their duty” for the channel. A third freelance journalist travelling with them, Hazem Rajab, was seriously injured.
In response to the BBC’s request for comment about the killing the Israeli military replied that an “aircraft identified and struck a terrorist who operated an aircraft that posed a threat to IDF troops”.
“We are aware of the reports that during the strike, two other suspects who were in the same vehicle as the terrorist were also hit,” the IDF told the BBC.
The health ministry in Gaza also confirmed the deaths and blamed an Israeli strike.
In a video shared on X, formerly Twitter, Wael al-Dahdouh and one of his daughters could be seen hugging in tears during Hamza’s funeral.
“Please stay with us father.” she says. “We have no one else but you, father.”
Al-Dahdouh had lost four other members of his immediate family when they were killed in an Israeli strike in October – his wife, grandchild, 15-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter.
He’d found out during his live coverage for the network.
