“As long as we are alive, we will continue.” Al-Jazeera journalists on Gaza time defy death policy

Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza continue to pay countless high prices in order to document one of the most horrific massacres in modern history, and lives and dreams are falling, but the cameras do not stop, and the truth remains stronger than all attempts to obscure it.

In the heart of this ongoing tragedy, the second part of the “Al Jazeera Gaza Time” program – consisting of 3 parts – monitored the continuing bleeding among the channel’s crews working in the Strip, as the camera turned into a witness to the martyrdom of those carrying it, and the microphone into a means of conveying news of the death of loved ones.

Al Jazeera journalists faced systematic and direct attacks from the Israeli occupation forces, despite wearing badges and protective press vests.

The new bloody chapter began at dawn on December 6, 2023, when reporter Moamen Al-Sharafi received the heaviest news of his life while he was preparing to appear on screen.

In detail, an Israeli raid targeted a house in the Jabalia camp, to which his family had fled only a few hours ago, exterminating 22 members of his family in one moment, including his father, mother, and siblings.

“Agent of death”

In this tragic context, Al Jazeera correspondent Hisham Zaqout admitted that he sometimes feels like “an agent of death for his colleagues and friends,” forced to tell them about the fates of their families on the air due to the nature of their journalistic work.

Al-Sharafi describes how he was crying for no apparent reason hours before his family was martyred, as if he was feeling something, but he did not know what it was, wishing he had been martyred before he received the news of the martyrdom of his mother, who was “everything to him.”

From one tragedy to another, more cruel. On December 15, 2023, the most serious targeting occurred against Al Jazeera crews, as the director of Al Jazeera’s office in Gaza, Wael Al Dahdouh, and photographer Samer Abu Daqqa accompanied the civil defense team on a rescue mission coordinated in advance and approved by the occupation army in Khan Yunis, south of the Strip.

The occupation targeted the crew with a direct missile during their return, and Abu Daqqa was martyred after devoting himself to editing and filming, while Al-Dahdouh was injured by shrapnel in the shoulder, arm, and thighs.

Martyrdom of Abu Daqqa

In the midst of this horrific scene, Al-Dahdouh made a fateful decision to walk through the rubble and electrical wires, despite the severe bleeding, to reach the ambulance. He placed his hand on the bleeding wound and asked the paramedics to save his colleague Samer first, but they could not reach him.

The Al Jazeera crew bid farewell to their colleague, “the one with the joke who eased the tense atmosphere,” before Al-Dahdouh returned to coverage immediately after the funeral, despite the pain and wounds.

After this difficult ordeal, Al-Dahdouh left for Qatar to receive treatment, especially due to his severe injury to his hand, while Al-Sharafi took over the coverage from Nasser Medical Complex, and new journalists joined the team from different areas in the sector to fill the gaps.

Direct targeting

But the series of attacks has not ended yet. On February 26, 2024, the occupation targeted Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Abu Omar and photographer Ahmed Matar with a direct missile from an Israeli march, despite them wearing protective vests and helmets.

As a result, Abu Omar’s right leg was immediately amputated, and he was injured in his left leg and various parts of his body, while Matar suffered serious injuries to his head, hands, and legs.

In a new dramatic development, specifically on March 18, 2024, the occupation forces stormed Al-Shifa Medical Complex for the second time, and arrested reporter Ismail Al-Ghoul along with dozens of others in the hospital courtyard.

Al-Ghoul spent 12 hours handcuffed in the bitter cold, being interrogated, and accused of being a “terrorist and intelligence agent” because he was an Al-Jazeera correspondent, before he was released hours later, but he later discovered that his brother Khaled was martyred in the massacre committed by the occupation inside the compound.

Despite this long bloody record, the message remained clear in the words of Al-Ghoul – who was later martyred – “Despite all fears, we insist on completing the delivery of our media message in all its details. From every point and every alley we will enter and convey the message of every Palestinian citizen.”

As for Wael Al-Dahdouh, he summarized the situation with firm words: “As long as we are alive, we are complete. We must continue on the path regardless of the pain, the pain, and the costs.”