Israel-Hamas war: Family of Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief killed in Israeli strike

The family members of Al Jazeera journalist Wael Al Dahdouh, including his wife, son, daughter and grandson, were killed on Wednesday night in an Israeli air strike on Gaza, the network said.

Wael al-Dahdouh, Al Jazeera Arabic's bureau chief in Gaza, had fled with his family to the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, which is among the areas Israel said would be considered safe zones.

The network broadcast live footage of Dahdouh crying as he saw family members laying lifeless in hospital.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, al-Dahdouh said: “What happened is clear. This is a series of targeted attacks on children, women and civilians. I was just reporting from Yarmouk about such an attack, and the Israeli raids have targeted many areas, including Nuseirat."

“We had our doubts that the Israeli occupation would not let these people go without punishing them. And sadly, that is what happened. This is the ‘safe’ area that the occupation army spoke of,” he said.

Al Jazeera, the Qatari-owned news channel for which Dahdouh works, condemned the indiscriminate targeting and killing of innocent civilians in Gaza.

"Their home was targeted in the Nuseirat camp in the centre of Gaza, where they had sought refuge after being displaced by the initial bombardment in their neighborhood, following Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call for all civilians to move south," Al Jazeera said in a statement.

"The network strongly condemns the indiscriminate targeting and killing of innocent civilians in Gaza, which has led to the loss of Wael Al-Dahdouh's family and countless others," Al Jazeera said.

Israeli strikes have reportedly killed more than 6,500 people in Gaza, since Hamas killed some 1,400 people in its 7 October surprise raid into Israel. According to reports, nearly 6,00,000 people have been displaced from their homes by Israeli bombardments.

The Gaza victims include more than 22 journalists, according to the Palestinian journalists’ union.

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