The Israeli military has acknowledged targeting the vehicle of journalist Hamza Dahdouh, the son of Wael Dahdouh, Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza, and his colleague Mustafa Thuria in Gaza last Sunday. The journalists were on a reporting mission in Rafah, in the southern part of the territory, when they were attacked under the pretext that they were "terrorist elements."
On Wednesday evening, the occupation forces claimed that the two journalists were operating drones in a manner that supposedly endangered Israeli forces before the strike occurred.
The Israeli military stated it was "in the process of verifying" the type of drone and the nature of the threat these journalists allegedly posed.
Furthermore, the military alleged that Dahdouh junior was a member of Saraya al-Quds, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, and Thuria a member of Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement. It claimed that "documents found on the battleground in Gaza" indicated both journalists' names and their involvement in the organizational structures of Palestinian factions.
According to claims by the occupation, the documents imply that Dahdouh previously held the position of deputy commander of a faction within the Zaytoun battalion of the Islamic Jihad and currently holds a regional responsibility within the movement's missile unit.
Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemned the assassination of both colleagues and the severe injury of journalist Hazem Rajab in the Israeli bombing north of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
In its statement, Al Jazeera Media Network said that the killing of Dahdouh and Thuria, who were en route to carry out their journalistic duties in the Strip, reiterates the need for immediate and necessary legal measures against the occupation forces to ensure they do not escape punishment.
Israeli occupation forces have systematically targeted Dahdouh the elder and his family, resulting in the martyrdom of his wife, son, daughter, and grandchild in November 2023, and the targeting of himself and his colleague, the martyred photographer Samer Abu Daqqa, in December 2023.
