The Israeli army labeled the two journalists killed in Gaza as 'members of terrorist organizations,' a claim Al Jazeera strongly denied on Thursday as 'false' and 'misleading.'
Al Jazeera journalist Wael Dahdouh attends the funeral of his son, Palestinian journalist Hamza Dahdouh, after Hamza was killed in an Israeli strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2024. IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA / REUTERS
Employer Al Jazeera, family members and Palestinian militant group Hamas on Thursday, January 11, rejected claims by the Israeli army that journalists it killed in a Gaza air strike were "terror operatives."
Al Jazeera staffer Hamza Wael Dahdouh and freelancer Mustafa Thuraya, who also worked as a video stringer for Agence France-Presse (AFP) and other news organizations, were killed on Sunday while they were on an assignment for the Qatar-based channel in the city of Rafah.
"Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns and wholly rejects – and indeed expresses its very considerable surprise at – the Israeli army's false and misleading attempts to justify the killing of our colleague Hamza Wael Dahdouh and other journalists," the network said in a statement.
"Hamza Wael Dahdouh was among a group of journalists from various media organizations [also including Mustafa Thuraya] covering the [Israeli army's] devastating bombing[...] He, like so many journalists before him, was killed simply for doing his job," Al Jazeera added.
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On Wednesday, the Israeli army said the two men were "members of Gaza-based terrorist organizations actively involved in attacks against [Israeli army] forces." "Prior to the strike, the two operated drones, posing an imminent threat to [Israeli army] troops," the army said.
Making 'excuses'
Hamza's father Wael al-Dahdouh, who is Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief, rejected the claims. "These are fabrications. It is clear that they [the Israeli army] are attempting to defend themselves, justify what is happening and derail the issue," Dahdouh told AFP.
"[The Israeli army] wants to give excuses. This is clear [even] to children here," he said, adding that Hamza had been an experienced journalist. "In this war, journalists can barely do their work, given that they are homeless and displaced," Dahdouh said.
Two of Dahdouh's nephews, Ahmed, a 30-year-old electronics engineer, and Muhammad, a 26-year-old school accountant, were killed in another Israeli air strike on Rafah on Monday, relatives and the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.
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Hamas's press office also rejected the army's allegations, saying Israel "creates false pretexts to justify its massacres and crimes against Palestinian civilians and journalists."
