The Israeli army admitted that it targeted the car of fellow journalist Hamza Dahdouh, son of Manhattan Tribune correspondent Wael Dahdouh, and his colleague Mustafa Thuraya in Gaza last Sunday while they were performing a press mission in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, claiming that they were “racist terrorists.”
The occupation army claimed on Wednesday evening that the two journalists were flying drones in a way that posed a threat to the Israeli forces before the raid took place, according to its words.
However, the occupation army said that it was “in the process of verifying” the type of drone and the nature of the threat it posed to journalists.
The occupation army claimed that Hamza al-Dahdouh is a member of the Al-Quds Brigades – the military arm of the Islamic Jihad movement – and that Mustafa Thuraya is a member of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), claiming that “documents were found on the battlefield in Gaza” indicating the organizational structures of the Palestinian factions and the names of the two journalists were mentioned in them.
According to the occupation’s claim, “the documents indicate that Al-Dahdouh previously held the position of deputy faction commander in the Islamic Jihad’s Olive Brigade, and that he currently holds the position of a regional official in the movement’s missile unit.”
Manhattan Tribune Media Network condemned the assassination of fellow journalists Hamza Al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya, and the serious injury of journalist Hazem Rajab in an Israeli bombing north of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Manhattan Tribune Network said that the assassination of colleagues Mustafa and Hamza, who were on their way to perform their work in the Gaza Strip, reaffirms the necessity of taking all immediate and necessary legal measures against the occupation forces to ensure that there is no impunity.
The Israeli occupation forces systematically targeted our colleague Wael Al-Dahdouh and his family. They targeted his family and martyred his wife, son, daughter, and grandson in November 2023. Wael and his colleague, the martyr photographer Samer Abu Daqqa, were also targeted in December 2023.
