Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Al-Dahdouh (C) is comforted during the funeral of his son Hamza Wael Dahdouh, a journalist with the Al Jazeera television network, who was killed in a reported Israeli air strike, in Rafah in the Gaza Strip on Jan. 7, 2024. Dahdouh, who was himself wounded in the arm, lost his wife and two other children in Israeli bombardment in the initial weeks of the war. (Credit: AFP)
Both Hamas and family members of two Al Jazeera journalists killed by an Israeli airstrike on Gaza rejected claims Thursday by the Israeli army that the two journalists were "terror operatives."
Hamza Wael Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuria, who also worked as a video stringer for AFP and other news organizations, were killed on Sunday while they were on an assignment for the Qatar-based channel in the city of Rafah.
On Wednesday, the Israeli army said the two men were "members of Gaza-based terrorist organizations actively involved in attacks against [army] forces."
"Prior to the strike, [Dahdouh and Thuria] operated drones, posing an imminent threat to [army] troops." The Israeli military claimed.
Hamza's father Wael al-Dahdouh, who is Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief, and who lost his wife and two other children in Israeli bombardment earlier in the war, rejected the claims.
"These are fabrications. It is clear that they [the army] are attempting to defend themselves, justify what is happening and derail the issue," Dahdouh told AFP.
"[The army] wants to give excuses. This is clear [even] to children here," he said, adding that Hamza had been an experienced journalist.
"In this war, journalists can barely do their work, given that they are homeless and displaced," Dahdouh said.
Two of Dahdouh's nephews, Ahmed, a 30-year-old electronics engineer, and Muhammad, a 26-year-old school accountant, were killed in another Israeli air strike on Rafah on Monday, relatives and the Gaza Health Ministry said.
Hamas' press office also rejected the army's claims against the two journalists, saying Israel "creates false pretexts to justify its massacres and crimes against Palestinian civilians and journalists."
Thuria, in his 30s, had contributed for AFP since 2019 and had also worked with other international media outlets.
He and Hamza were killed when their car was struck by rockets while they were on their way back from an assignment for Al Jazeera.
Thuria's cousin Muhammad Thuria said the army claim was a "false accusation." He said Mustafa used to operate a drone for taking photos and videos which he sold to local and international news agencies.
"He was an ambitious and professional young man who was known among journalists for his work."
When asked by AFP on Thursday about the kind of drones the two men were using and the nature of the threat they posed to Israeli troops, the army said: "We have nothing to add."
The war in Gaza erupted when Hamas militants stormed across the border into Israel in an unprecedented attack on Oct. 7 which left some 1,140 people dead, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas and has kept up a relentless bombing of Gaza, which the health ministry there says has killed at least 23,469 people, mostly civilians.
Hamza Wael Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuria, who also worked as a video stringer for AFP and other news organizations, were killed on Sunday while they were on an...