Cairo: Tragedy struck near Rafah in southern Gaza as an Israeli airstrike on Sunday resulted in the deaths of two Palestinian journalists, Hamza Al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya, who were on reporting duty. Health officials in Gaza and the journalists' union confirmed the incident.
Both Al-Dahdouh and Thuraya, freelancers, were targeted in the strike. Al-Dahdouh had previously worked for Al Jazeera and was the son of Wael Al-Dahdouh, the chief correspondent in Gaza for the Qatar-based TV station. Another freelancer, Hazem Rajab, sustained injuries in the attack.
The Israel Defence Forces have not yet responded to inquiries about the strike.
The Israel-Hamas conflict, ongoing since October 7, has taken a toll on journalists. The Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) reported that, as of Saturday, 77 journalists and media workers had lost their lives, with 70 Palestinians, four Israelis, and three Lebanese casualties.
The Gaza government's media office, led by Hamas, reported that these recent deaths bring the tally of journalists killed in the Israeli offensive to 109.
A poignant video on an Al Jazeera-related YouTube channel showed Wael Al-Dahdouh grieving beside his son's body. In televised remarks after the burial, he expressed that Gaza journalists would persevere in their duty, emphasizing the global need to witness the events unfolding in the region.
Wael Al-Dahdouh gained recognition across the Middle East when he learned, live on air last month, about the tragic loss of his wife, another son, daughter, and grandson in an Israeli airstrike.
Among the journalists lost during the conflict was Issam Abdallah, a Reuters visuals journalist and Lebanese citizen, killed by an Israeli tank crew on October 13 while documenting cross-border shelling in Lebanon, according to a Reuters investigation.
—Input from Agencies