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Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa was killed in an Israeli strike on at Farhana school sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis.
The network’s chief Gaza correspondent, Wael al-Dahdouh, was injured in the same strike, Al Jazeera reported on Friday.
The attack hit the UN-administered Farhana school in Khan Younis and residential structures in southern Gaza. The school was designated as a humanitarian shelter for displaced Palestinians.
In its update on Friday, the UN OCHA reported that 12 Palestinians were suspected to have been killed in the strike.
Abu Daqqa, a native of Khan Younis had worked as a cameraman and an editor with Al Jazeera since 2004. He leaves behind a daughter and three sons.
Abu Daqqa’s colleagues have said in his commemoration that he was a “brother before he was a colleague.”
Al Jazeera’s managing editor, Mohamed Moawad, honored Abu Daqqa on X, saying: “His unwavering commitment to truth and storytelling has left an indelible mark on our team.”
In November, al-Dadhouh tragically lost four members of his family who were killed in Gaza. The family were sheltering at the Nuseirat refugee camp when the site came under bombardment during Israeli raids.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported that Abu Daqqa is the 64th journalist to be killed among the nearly 19,000 killed since Israel launched its brutal Gaza war on October 7.
CPJ has also disclosed that a further 13 journalists have been reported injured, 3 reported missing and 19 reported arrested.
Of these journalist fatalities, 57 were Palestinian, 4 Israeli and 3 Lebanese, since October 7, compared to 17 journalists reported killed in Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict in 2022.
The staggering number of deaths in Gaza account for the deadliest month for journalists since CPJ records began in 1992. CPJ has listed the names of the journalists on its website.
In 2021, Israeli forces attacked a site in Gaza, housing Al Jazeera and Associated Press offices, according to Al Jazeera.
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In a statement, the CPJ said it was “alarmed” by “the pattern of attacks on Al Jazeera journalists and their families.”
The Foreign Press Association expressed grief over the death of Abu Daqqa, one of its longtime members, saying on X: “He is the first FPA member to be killed in Gaza in the war,” and that Abu Daqqa’s death is a “grave blow” to the freedom of press in Gaza.
Abu Daqa is the 13th Al Jazeera journalist killed on duty since the launch of the network in 1996, the Qatari-owned media network has said.
Journalists in Gaza persist in delivering a “human and noble message” amidst the ongoing conflict, said al-Dahdouh in a eulogy at Abudaqa’s funeral, vowing to continue their work despite Israeli attacks.
