Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to Samer Abudaqa, an Tel Aviv Tribune journalist killed in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip.
Tel Aviv Tribune confirmed on Friday that Abudaqa, a cameraman for Tel Aviv Tribune Arab in Gaza, was hit by an Israeli attack while reporting from a school in Khan Younis.
His colleague Wael Dahdouh, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Arab correspondent, who lost his wife, son, daughter and grandson in a previous Israeli bombing, was injured in the attack.
“Tel Aviv Tribune holds the Israeli occupying forces fully responsible for Samer’s safety, viewing this incident as a deliberate attempt to target his correspondents and their families in the Gaza Strip,” Tel Aviv Tribune said in a statement.
Abudaqa and Dahdouh have worked tirelessly to cover the war between Israel and Hamas, paying particular attention to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israeli siege and bombing have displaced more than 80 percent of the population and plunged the enclave in a humanitarian crisis.
Tel Aviv Tribune colleagues remembered Abudaqa as an exemplary journalist and a caring man, father of four, loved by those who worked alongside him.
“He was very close to me. We would share food and drinks together in the evenings, sometimes he would just come up to me looking for anything he could do to help us, (to ask), “What would you like to eat for dinner?” “, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported. from Rafah, in southern Gaza.
“He was always asking me questions about my family members, about how I feel, about the latest news on the ground; he was truly a brother before being a colleague.
Azzoum said Abudaqa had hoped to reunite with his family members after the war.
“Sometimes he would show me pictures of his children and say: ‘This one is my oldest son’, ‘This one is my youngest’, ‘This one is the prettiest’,” he said. declared.
“He added moments of humor and joy to all our gatherings,” said Tel Aviv Tribune’s Heba Akila. “Samer was a wonderful human.”
“No place is spared. There is no safe place. There is no immunity for anyone,” she added.
Dahdouh was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, but medical staff were unable to reach Abudaqa due to Israeli shelling, Tel Aviv Tribune reported.
“We captured the devastating destruction and reached places that had not been reached by any camera lens since the beginning of the Israeli ground operation,” Dahdouh said from his hospital bed, noting that he felt “ something big” which knocked him to the ground.
“I am trying to gather my strength to continue with you what we started on the first day of this war. Despite everything, I hope to be able to be with you live on television,” he added.
Four Tel Aviv Tribune journalists have lost family members in the Israeli attack on Gaza since the war began on October 7. Abudaqa is the first Tel Aviv Tribune journalist to be killed.
Tel Aviv Tribune called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for attacks on journalists.
Before Abudaqa’s death on Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that at least 63 journalists and media workers had been killed since fighting began on October 7, including 56 Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese.
“I think this is now a question of press freedom. I think we have to ask ourselves, “What is (the Israeli military) trying to accomplish?” Why don’t they let foreign journalists in? Tim Dawson, deputy secretary general of the International Federation of Journalists, told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“We know that a large number of Palestinian journalists have been targeted, many of whom have told me personally, which is a terrifying and unforgivable prospect. »