A prominent Palestinian journalist whose wife and several of his children were killed in airstrikes in Gaza says the world is “treating us with indifference” – as he accused Israel of committing genocide.
Wael Al-Dahdouh’s wife Amna, 15-year-old son Mahmoud and seven-year-old daughter Sham were killed, and several others were left trapped under debris after a strike targeted the area they had sought refuge in October 2023.
Footage captured at the time showed Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief crouching beside Mahmoud, who aspired to be a journalist like his father. In later scenes, he was seen holding Sham who was covered in a shroud following the attack in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Mr Al-Dahdouh’s grandchild Adam also died in the attack – and weeks later, his eldest son Hamza was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Gaza in January 2024.
Speaking to Sky News presenter Leah Boleto, he said: “Why should I lose my wife, my lifelong friend and partner, my son, my daughter?
“My son was preparing to be a journalist, my eldest son Hamza was a journalist already and a colleague of mine.”
He said the world has been “treating us with indifference… even the coverage by our colleagues abroad”.
The journalist asked: “Why do they treat us with such indifference? Is it because of the colour of our skin? Or the colour of our eyes? Aren’t we all created equal after all?”
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He added: “It wasn’t enough, it wasn’t as objective as we thought it should have been, the lack of adherence to norms and standards of journalism… that feeling sometimes was even more painful than being at the receiving end of missiles and bullets.”
Mr Al-Dahdouh said Israel was “trying to isolate Gaza” after banning international press, leaving local journalists feeling “as though we are being left alone”.
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Without local journalists, “nobody would have known about the genocide and the tragedies that have been going on,” he added.
He warned the world shouldn’t feel the horrors seen in Gaza can only “take place far away from you”.
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“If nobody does anything, those who perpetrate these crimes will encourage others elsewhere to do the same and one day the fire will reach you in your own homes and houses,” the journalist said.
“By then, what can we do? It might be too late. We may not survive as a nation but what are you going to do.”
Israel has rejected accusations of genocide in its war in Gaza and says it does not target civilians or journalists.
A letter from the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said the government has concluded Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza but “must do much more” to prevent and alleviate the suffering.
