Funeral held for Al Jazeera journalist killed in Israeli strike

Gaza, The Gulf Observer: Dozens of journalists have taken part in a funeral for an Al Jazeera cameraman killed in an Israeli strike in the south of war-torn Gaza.

Samer Abu Daqqa’s body, bearing his bullet-proof vest and helmet, was carried through a crowd in the city of Khan Younis before being buried on Saturday in a grave dug by fellow journalists.

Abu Daqqa, born in 1978, was reporting from a school in Khan Younis when he was hit by a drone strike on Friday, said the Al Jazeera television network.

His colleague, Gaza bureau chief Wael al Dahdouh, was wounded in the same attack. Dahdouh had lost his wife and two children in a separate Israeli strike in the initial weeks of the war.

The Israeli army told AFP it takes “operationally feasible measures” to protect both civilians and journalists in Gaza.

“Given the ongoing exchanges of fire, remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks,” it said.

Dahdouh said the Israeli army “deliberately” targets journalists in Gaza.

“The occupation (Israeli army) does not want the press. It deliberately targeted us,” he told AFP.

“There was only the Al Jazeera team and the civil defence in the area.”

Three members of the civil defence force were also killed in the strike and their funerals were held on Saturday, AFP correspondents reported.

On Friday, Al Jazeera said it held “Israel accountable for systematically targeting and killing Al Jazeera journalists and their families”.

“Following Samer’s injury, he was left to bleed to death for over five hours, as Israeli forces prevented ambulances and rescue workers from reaching him, denying the much-needed emergency treatment,” it said in a statement.

More than 60 journalists and media staff have died since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Israel has bombarded Gaza from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive after a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7.

At least 18,800 Palestinians have been killed and 50,100 others injured in the Israeli onslaught since then, according to Palestinian health authorities in Gaza.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, while around 139 hostages remain in captivity, according to official figures.