Family of Al Jazeera reporter 'killed in Gaza attack'

Wael Al Dahdouh was shown mourning over the bodies of his wife and children at a hospital

Residential buildings destroyed by an Israeli air strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp on Wednesday. Bloomberg
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The family of an Al Jazeera journalist have been killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza, the news network said in a statement on Wednesday.

The wife and two children of Wael Al Dahdouh, the Arabic-language channel's Gaza correspondent, were killed in a strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza strip, Al Jazeera said.

In images and footage broadcast by Al Jazeera and shared on social media, Al Dahdouh was shown mourning over the bodies of his wife and children at a hospital in Deir el-Balah in southern Gaza.

"This is the safe zone the occupation [Israeli] army was talking about," he said on Al Jazeera.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strike, which the network said hit the area to which Al Dahdouh's family had fled after Israel’s demand that people evacuate from northern Gaza.

Al Jazeera said the family were staying in a temporary home after moving from Gaza City.

"Their home was targeted in the Nuseirat camp in the centre of Gaza, where they had sought refuge after being displaced by the initial bombardment in their neighbourhood, following Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call for all civilians to move south," Al Jazeera said.

"Al Jazeera is deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of our colleagues in Gaza and hold the Israeli authorities responsible for their security."

The network passed on its condolences to its grieving correspondent.

"The Al Jazeera Media Network extends its sincere condolences and sympathy to our colleague Wael Al Dahdouh on the loss of his family in an Israeli air strike," it said.

"The indiscriminate assault by the Israeli occupation forces resulted in the tragic loss of his wife, son and daughter, while the rest of his family is buried under the rubble."

Israel has launched strikes on Gaza after an attack by Hamas on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people.

More than 220 people were taken hostage and are being held in Gaza, Israel says.

Since then, Israeli strikes have killed more than 6,500 people in Gaza, a rise of more than 700 since Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Updated: October 25, 2023, 8:48 PM