Two Al Jazeera journalists wounded in Israeli attack in southern Gaza

Two journalists from Al Jazeera Arabic sustained injuries while reporting on an Israeli assault on a school in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

Wael Dahdouh, the Gaza bureau chief for Al Jazeera Arabic, and cameraperson Samer Abudaqa were covering a prior airstrike at Farhana school in Khan Younis when they were wounded on Friday by shrapnel from an Israeli missile attack.

Dahdouh suffered shrapnel injuries to his upper arm and was subsequently moved to Nasser Hospital with minor injuries.

According to Al Jazeera, Abudaqa sustained shrapnel injuries and remained near the scene of the incident, which paramedics were unable to reach due to Israeli fire. Abudaqa’s condition was not immediately clear.

Witnesses said there was heavy shelling in the area around the school.

“The ambulance finds it very difficult to get to him,” Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported from Rafah.

Numerous Palestinians originally from central and northern Gaza have relocated to Khan Younis for refuge since the commencement of the conflict in October.

However, due to the escalation of Israeli military actions in Khan Younis, many have been displaced even further south, towards Rafah, the southernmost city in the strip.

These developments coincide with intense confrontations between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli army across various locations in Gaza.

Residents have reported clashes in Shejaya, Sheikh Radwan, Zeitoun, Tuffah, and Beit Hanoun in the north, east of Maghazi in central Gaza, and in the central and northern outskirts of Khan Younis, as indicated by Reuters news service.

In late October,, Wael Dahdouh experienced the tragic loss of four relatives during an air strike carried out by Israeli forces.

While taking shelter in Nuseirat camp in the heart of Gaza, his residence was targeted and bombed, resulting in the untimely deaths of his wife, Um Hamza, his 15-year-old son, Mahmoud, his seven-year-old daughter, Sham, and his grandson, Adam, who passed away in the hospital a few hours later.

“Despite all the difficulties, despite the death of his family, he rebounded within minutes to do his job again. And now, Wael is the victim,” said Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said it was “shocked” at the attack.

“We condemn the attack and reiterate our demand that journalists’ lives must be safeguarded,” it said in a post on X.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA