NEW DELHI: AL Jazeera journalist, Wael AL Dahdouh lost his family- his son, his wife and his daughter in an “Israeli air strike” on Gaza, as reported by the network on Wednesday during a live broadcast. At the time when their deaths were confirmed, Mr Dahdouh was, in fact, live on air and was reporting on the Israeli strikes in that area.
It was the colleague of Dahdouh who broke the news in public while he himself burst into tears while reading the news. The tearful anchor said: “We note this breaking news that we transmit on the Al Jazeera network. A number of family members of our colleague, Wael Al Dahdouh were martyred, including his wife, son and daughter,” an anchor said as he fought back tears in an Israel bombing that targeted (his) house …” Further he added: “He was with us a little while ago… and he was reporting the bombing that targeted the area where a number of his family members were martyred.”
Mr Dahdouh (53), was a well-known journalist who has covered several news related to the armed conflicts in the subsequent areas. He was helping to broadcast live images of the war in Gaza when he received the devastating news of his family being no more. The Qatari broadcaster later aired visuals of a grief-stricken Mr Dahdouh at the morgue in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Palestine’s Deir el-Balah, to see his 15-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter. is two-year-old grandson also died. Others, including an infant granddaughter, escaped. Several other members are still missing, Al Jazeera has reported.
On Wednesday, the network of AL Jazeera has also shared a video message with the public where it is seen that Mr Dahdouh’s two older sons are begging the global community while they are saying: “help us stay alive.” The Israeli military has not yet commented on these deaths. Mr Dahdouh’s family are among the millions of civilians displaced by Israel’s war on Gaza. The broadcaster said Mr Dahdouh’s family were in a temporary home after evacuating Gaza City following Israel’s warning for residents to move south as its forces intensifies strikes on the Hamas.
AL Jazeera network condemned the death of the family of the journalist and released a statement saying: “The indiscriminate assault by Israeli Occupation forces resulted in the tragic loss of his (Mr Dahdouh’s) wife, son and daughter, while the rest of his family is buried under rubble. We urge the international community to intervene and put an end to attacks on civilians.”
