For eighteen days, the Arab world has had its eyes riveted on the images from Gaza, broadcast by Al-Jazeera. The face of Wael Al-Dahdouh is well known to viewers: the head of the Qatari channel’s bureau in the Palestinian enclave reports daily on its shelling by the Israeli army. On Wednesday October 25, the journalist was live on air when he learned that his wife and two of his children were killed in a bombing. As he was commenting on footage, his voice broke off and after a moment of hesitation, the presenters in the studio in Doha took over.
The channel’s correspondent reappeared on screen a few minutes later, overcome by pain, as he entered the hospital where the bodies of his loved ones had been taken. The Arab public will not soon forget these images, where he leans, still dressed in his press-stamped bulletproof vest, over the remains of his son Mahmoud, a teenager wrapped in a white shroud, and hugs his dead little girl, Sham. Another of her children, who survived, underwent emergency surgery.
“Are they taking revenge on the children? »blurted out the journalist, who was indignant at“targeted attacks against children, women, and civilians. » The Al-Jazeera channel denounced a “indiscriminate attack” on the Nusseirat refugee camp. This is where Wael Al-Dahdouh had sent his family, hoping to shelter them: the place is located south of the area that the Israeli army ordered residents to evacuate. “We doubted that the Israeli occupation would leave [les civils] leave without punishing them. And that is sadly what happened. This is the “safe” zone that the occupying army is talking about,” said the journalist. Al-Jazeera later announced the death of a grandson of Wael Al-Dahdouh. The Israeli army did not react to this event on Wednesday evening.
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The latter promised to destroy Hamas, responsible for the bloody attack of October 7, which left more than 1,400 dead in southern Israel, civilians and soldiers alike. Last weekend, it intensified its bombings on Gaza, subject to a total siege, where more than 2 million Palestinians live, half of whom are now displaced. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed Wednesday evening that a ground offensive would be launched against the Palestinian territory.
Wael Dahdouh has not left Gaza City since October 7. He runs from one bombing site to another. He goes live in front of mountains of rubble, the remains of buildings five or ten stories high, pulverized by a missile. The images behind him tell of the incredible violence inflicted on the population of Gaza. According to the health ministry of the Hamas-administered enclave, more than 6,500 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed since October 7. Israel, which contests Al-Jazeera’s coverage of events, has threatened to close its offices on its soil.
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