Throughout a harrowing 100-day wartime experience in the Gaza Strip, the Al Jazeera Gaza correspondents endured not only the incessant bombardment and the trauma of displacement but also the personal loss of loved ones. These journalists, just like the other residents, bore the brunt of a devastating conflict that threatened their very existence.
Wael al-Dahdouh describes the experience, “For 100 days, we bore witness to a war more bloody and destructive than any before, the likes of which Gaza has never seen. We saw entire neighborhoods razed to the ground, homes obliterated, and whole families erased from the civil register.”
He disclosed their firsthand experiences at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where the remains and bodies of children and women were a common sight, alongside the catastrophe of mass displacement and forced migration.
Al-Dahdouh also spoke of the personal attacks journalists faced during the conflict, revealing the martyrdom of family members, including his own targeting and wounding, and the death of his colleague, the cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, and Samer’s eldest son, Hamza al-Dahdouh.
From the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Al Jazeera correspondent Hisham Zaquot recounted witnessing the Israeli forces targeting journalists and their families, the demolition of houses over their residents’ heads, and scenes of killing, destruction, displacement, and starvation. Despite the unprecedented nature of the Israeli war, Zaquot emphasized their undeterred continuation of media coverage.
Mumen al-Sharafi, another correspondent, emphasized the uniqueness of this war compared to others and expressed hope for a better future for Gaza’s children, affirming that media coverage will persist despite the challenges.
Collaborating with Al Jazeera from Rafah, journalist Hani al-Shaer covered what he described as a genocidal campaign by Israel in Gaza, living through the horrors of killing, destruction, and displacement but also bearing witness to the Palestinians’ resilience and steadfastness in the face of adversity.
Journalist Ashraf Abu Amrah shared his 100-day testimony of witnessing massacres and massive displacements. The haunting images of those days remain with him, and he characterizes this war as extraordinary and predominantly against civilians. This sentiment is echoed by journalist Ismail Abu Omar from Khan Yunis, who, along with his fellow photographers, documented the forced migrations and detailed the suffering of the people.
Unfortunately, Anas al-Sharif, reporting the gruesome details of the war from the northern Gaza Strip, could not give his statement due to health problems he sustained.
