Wael Al-Dahdouh | |
|---|---|
وائل الدحدوح | |
 Dahdouh in May 2024 | |
| Born | Wael Hamdan Ibrahim Al-Dahdouh (1970-04-30)30 April 1970 (age 55) |
| Other names | Abu Hamza |
| Alma mater | Islamic University of Gaza Al-Quds University |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Employer | Al Jazeera |
| Awards | Peace Through Media Award (2013) |
Wael Hamdan Ibrahim Al-Dahdouh (Arabic:وائل حمدان إبراهيم الدحدوح,romanized: Wāʾil Ḥamdān Ibrāhīm al-Daḥdūḥ; born 30 April 1970[1]) is a Palestinian journalist and the bureau chief ofAl Jazeera inGaza City.[2][3]
His career, beginning in 1998, also spanned working forAl-Quds newspaper, acting as a correspondent forVoice of Palestine, in theSecond Intifada against theIsraeli occupation, and as a correspondent forAl Arabiya, with his role with Al-Jazeera starting in 2004. He received the Peace Through Media Award in 2013.
Numerous members of Al-Dahdouh's family have been killed by theIsraeli military during theGaza war. His wife, seven-year-old daughter, and 15-year-old son were killed in an Israeli airstrike on theNuseirat refugee camp on 28 October 2023, in addition to eight of his other relatives. On 15 December 2023, while Al-Dahdouh and his cameramanSamer Abu Daqqa were covering theHaifa School airstrike inKhan Yunis, they were hit by an Israeli missile, injuring Dahdouh and fatally wounding Abu Daqqa. Despite the death of many family members and his injury, he quickly returned to reporting on the war after both incidents.[4] His son, journalist Hamza al-Dahdouh, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis on 7 January 2024,[5] and two of his nephews were killed in an airstrike the following day.[6]
On 11 November 2024, theNational Press Club announced him as the 2024 International John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award winner, the highest honor for press freedom from National Press Club.[7]
Wael Hamdan Al-Dahdouh was born on 30 April 1970 in theZaytoun neighborhood, the oldest neighborhood ofGaza City in theIsraeli-occupiedGaza Strip. He grew up in a well-off Gazan family who originally came from theArabian Peninsula.[1] He has eight siblings.[8][9] He received his primary and secondary education in several schools in Gaza City.[1]
In 1988, Al-Dahdouh earned his high school diploma and was given a scholarship to study medicine in Iraq, but the start of theFirst Intifada in 1987 prevented him from leaving. He was arrested by theIsraeli army and charged withstone-throwing, with a sentence of 15 years in prison.[8][9] Al-Dahdouh spent seven years in Israeli prisons. He again obtained a high school diploma in an Israeli prison, and received aBA in journalism and media from theIslamic University of Gaza in 1998. After Israel prevented him from traveling to study abroad, he received a master's degree in regional studies fromAl-Quds University,Abu Dis, in 2007.[1][8]
As of February 2025, Al-Dahdouh lives inDoha, Qatar.[9]
Al-Dahdouh started working as a journalist in 1998. He worked for the Palestinian newspaperAl-Quds as a correspondent in Gaza,[8] and wrote for other Palestinian magazines, then worked as a correspondent for the radioVoice of Palestine, as well as for Sahar satellite channel at the beginning of theSecond Intifada in 2000. He also worked as a correspondent forAl Arabiya in 2003, then moved to work as a reporter and official atAl Jazeera's office in the Gaza Strip since 2004.[10]
Al-Dahdouh was broadcasting live during theGaza war when he learned that several of his family members had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in October 2023.[11] His wife, his daughter Sham (aged 7), his son Mahmoud (aged 15),[12] and a grandchild were killed, along with 21 other people. They were residing inNuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.[13][14] They had moved there following a warning from Israel to evacuate from the north of Gaza.[15] His other son, Yehia, was seriously wounded,[16] and Al Jazeera reported that at least eight of his other relatives were also killed in the air raid.[17] In video footage uploaded by GazaphotojournalistMotaz Azaiza, Al-Dahdouh is seen holding his deceased grandson while three relatives mourn.[18] When he saw his dead son, Al-Dahdouh stated, "They took revenge on us through our children."[19]
On 15 December 2023, while Dahdouh and his colleague cameramanSamer Abu Daqqa were covering theHaifa School airstrike inKhan Yunis, they were hit by an Israeli missile. Dahdouh was evacuated and treated for shrapnel injuries, but Abu Daqqa, who was seriously wounded, was unreachable as Israeli forces prevented ambulances from reaching him; he bled to death many hours later. Despite the death of many family members and his injury, Al-Dahdouh quickly returned to reporting on the war after both incidents.[4][20][21]
A surviving son, journalist Hamza al-Dahdouh, was killed by an Israeli airstrike alongside colleague Mustafa Thuraya in Khan Younis on 7 January 2024.[5] Hamza was 27, and was Dahdouh's eldest son.[22] The IDF bombed Hamza's car because Thuraya had been using a camera drone to film the aftermath of an earlier airstrike, stating they had "struck a terrorist who operated an aircraft that posed a threat".[6] Al Jazeera condemned the attack as an assassination and alleged that the IDF has "systematically targeted" Dahdouh's family.[22] The IDF claimed that Hamza was an operative ofPIJ.[23] The accusation was not independently verified and was rejected by the families of Hamza and Mustafa, as well as by Al Jazeera who described it as "false" and a "fabrication".[24] One other journalist was seriously injured in the bombing.[24] The day after the airstrike, two of Wael al-Dahdouh's nephews—brothers Ahmed al-Dahdouh, 30, and Muhammad al-Dahdouh, 26—along with a third man were killed when their car was bombed.[6]
At the request of the Egyptian Journalists' Syndicate in Cairo, Al-Dahdouh was granted permission to evacuate to Egypt via theRafah Crossing and thenDoha viaAl-Arish Airport for medical treatment on 16 and 17 January 2024.[25] Four of his children had crossed to Egypt the week prior.[26]
