Al Jazeera journalist Hind Khoudary broke down in tears as she reported on the killing two colleagues, journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Refee, who were reportedly targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Wednesday.
The two journalists were in their car traveling near the Aidia area west of Gaza City when they attack occurred. Al-Ghoul and al-Refee were covering the assassination by Israel of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, who was killed by a strike in Tehran, Iran, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
According to Al Jazeera, the reporters were traveling in a white van that was targeted by an air strike. Graphic footage posted on social media showed the carcass of the van, and contained within a headless body clad in a bloodied press jacket.
As the news broke, host Al Jazeera Neave Barker pivoted away from a network analyst to speak to journalist Hind Khoudary who was on the ground in Gaza to ask about al-Ghoul’s work.
Khoudary, already emotional, explained that al-Ghoul had been working in northern Gaza and had been separated from his family, regularly posting that he was looking forward to being reunited with his daughter.
Khoudary told the host: “He was killed with his cameraman, Rami al-Riefee, and they were killed… they were directly targeted in a white car, where they were killed. They were wearing their press jackets. They were covering the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh. They were on their way back from his house in al-Shati refugee camp, and that’s how the Israeli forces targeted them.”
She continued: “Al Jazeera Arabic used to broadcast Ismail’s reports talking about different types of reports. We were talking about airstrikes, the sewage, the famine, everything. And I had this call with Ismail a couple of days ago, and we were talking about helping Palestinians stuck in the northern parts and trying to find a way to evacuate to the southern parts of the Gaza Strip.
She added: “Ismail was not only a journalist, but he was trying his best to help everyone in the north, to help to find food for everyone in the north and he was just a very kind person.”
Barker, in the studio in Doha, Qatar, went on to ask about the lengths journalists in Gaza go to in order to carry out their jobs: “I can hear it in your voice, Hind. This is an incredibly emotional moment for you and the team and obviously for the whole Al Jazeera family. Can you give us a sense of the kind of precautions, the safety concerns, the measures that you have to go through on a daily basis, and Ismail would have had to go through to do his job?”
As the interview returned to Khoudary she broke down emotionally: “We do everything. We wear our press jackets. We wear our helmets. We try to not go anywhere which is not safe. We try to go anywhere to keep our security, but we have been targeted in normal places where normal citizens are. We’re trying to do everything, but at the same time, we want to report. We want to tell the world what’s going on.”
She concluded, crying: “It’s heartbreaking to report this today, and it’s heartbreaking to report Shireen’s killing, Hamza’s killing, and Samer’s killing, and this is not the first time we’re doing this, but every time it feels as if it’s the first time.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists, which estimates that at least 111 journalists have been killed in the war so far, issued a statement condemning the strike: “CPJ is dismayed by the news that Al Jazeera TV reporter Ismail Al Ghoul and cameraman Ramy Al Refee were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza. Journalists are civilians and should never be targeted. Israel must explain why two more Al Jazeera journalists have been killed in what appears to be a direct strike.”
Watch above on Al Jazeera.
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