An Al Jazeera journalist has died after being badly injured during an Israeli attack in southern Gaza and then forced to wait five hours for medical attention, the network told CNN on Friday.
Camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa died from injuries sustained in an attack on Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza. The Qatar-based network reported that Abu Daqqa bled for hours before medical personnel could reach him due to heavy shelling in the city. Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Dahdouh was also injured in the attack but was eventually evacuated to a hospital.
The network accused Israel of systematically targeting and killing its journalists and their families, urging the international community to hold the Israeli government and military accountable. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded, stating that they take measures to protect civilians and journalists and do not deliberately target them.
The IDF emphasized the inherent risks in remaining in an active combat zone. Independent verification of the allegations is challenging amid the ongoing conflict. An Al Jazeera journalist
In a later statement in response to CNN’s reporting, the IDF said that an ambulance had been dispatched to help Abu Daqqa but it “encountered road damage” and couldn’t reach the scene in time. “Once we became aware of an injured individual and received a request to grant permission for an ambulance, COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories) granted permission for the ambulance to use a safe passage,” the IDF statement read.