Al Jazeera says Israeli attack killed journalist in Gaza

An Israeli attack killed an Al Jazeera journalist and wounded his colleague in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Qatari network reported.

Al Jazeera had initially reported that cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa and Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh were wounded in a school in Khan Yunis, where they were hit by "shrapnel from an Israeli missile attack".

In a subsequent statement condemning the Israeli military, Al Jazeera attributed the injuries to a drone strike.

"Following Samer's injury, he was left to bleed to death for over 5 hours, as Israeli forces prevented ambulances and rescue workers from reaching him, denying the much-needed emergency treatment," it said.

Al-Dahdouh was wounded in the arm and transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, according to an AFP journalist.

In a news update, Al Jazeera said Al-Dahdouh was able to leave the area of the strike to look for help, "but by the time he reached an ambulance, medics said they could not return to the site of the attack because it was too dangerous."

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Samer Abu Daqqa, an Al Jazeera channel cameraman and friend of ours, was murdered after lying on the ground covered in blood for more than five hours without being treated because the occupation forces prevented medical teams from reaching him. Nasser arrived at the hospital as… pic.twitter.com/9yAW5mNwFQ

— Gaza Notifications (@gazanotice) December 15, 2023

- 'A compassionate soul' -

Al Jazeera managing editor Mohamed Moawad paid tribute to Abu Daqqa on X, formerly Twitter, saying: "His unwavering commitment to truth and storytelling has left an indelible mark on our team.

"Samer, whose lens captured the raw and unfiltered reality of life in Gaza, was not just a skilled professional but a compassionate soul who understood the power of visual storytelling.

"In the pursuit of truth, our cameraman faced immense risks to bring viewers a deeper understanding of the human experience in Gaza," Moawad said.

The Foreign Press Association called on the Israeli army to investigate.

"We consider this a grave blow to the already limited freedom of the press in Gaza," it said in a statement.

According to the Hamas militant group, a first strike had targeted a school belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Khan Yunis, which the journalists had come to cover.

A second strike then took place which "deliberately targeted the journalists", Hamas said.

It was an "attempt to intimidate journalists so that they do not document the (Israeli) massacres committed in the Gaza Strip", Hamas said.

Al Jazeera said it held "Israel accountable for systematically targeting and killing Al Jazeera journalists and their families".

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a press briefing that "we still don't have any indications" that Israel is "deliberately going after journalists trying to cover this war".

In late October, emotional footage showed Al-Dahdouh learning on camera that his wife and two children were killed by an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

More than 60 journalists and media staff have died since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel on October 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The war began after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Vowing to destroy Hamas and bring home an estimated 250 hostages abducted by militants to Gaza, Israel launched a massive offensive that has left much of the besieged territory in ruins.

The Hamas government says the war has killed at least 18,800 people, mostly women and children.