Wael Ai-dahdouh
Wael Hamdan Ibrahim Al-Dahdouhis a Palestinian journalist and the bureau chief of Al Jazeera in Gaza City.
His career, beginning in 1998, also spanned working for Al-Quds newspaper, acting as a correspondent for Voice of Palestine, in the Second Intifada against the Israeli occupation, and as a correspondent for Al 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 the Israeli military during the Gaza war. His wife, seven-year-old daughter, and 15-year-old son were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp on 28 October 2023, in addition to eight of his other relatives. On 15 December 2023, while Al-Dahdouh and his cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa were covering the Haifa School airstrike in Khan 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. His son, journalist Hamza al-Dahdouh, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis on 7 January 2024, and two of his nephews were killed in an airstrike the following day.
On 11 November 2024, the National Press Club announced him as the 2024 International John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award winner, the highest honor for press freedom from National Press Club.
