Israeli forces kill journalist Wael Dahdouh’s nephew in Gaza

Israeli forces killed the nephew* Al-Jazeera'*s Gaza office director Wael Dahdouh on Thursday, just a day after the three-year anniversary of the start of the war on the enclave.

Dahdouh, a renowned veteran journalist, has reported on successive Israeli wars on Gaza and became known internationally for his bravery amid Israel’s latest ongoing offensive on the enclave.

Israeli forces killed several members of his family, including his wife, three children and a grandchild. He was also severely wounded and is still recovering in Doha, Qatar, where he has been based after he was evacuated in January 2024.

“There is not much else to say in these moments; one really is conflicted on what to say. Even looking at photos is painful. Just now, I received a message that informed me that my nephew has been killed in Deir al-Balah in the centre of Gaza,” he said in an interview with Al-Jazeera Arabic.

مدير مكتب الجزيرة في غزة وائل الدحدوح يعلن استشهاد ابن شقيقته في دير البلح وسط القطاع #الأخبار https://t.co/92bLa6pgPK

— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic)

October 9, 2026

“This is a martyr, someone who had a mother; this was a family that was turned upside down after three years of genocide, displacement, and bombardment. And in this moment, we remember all these things with such pain,” he continued.

He added that journalists, despite the Israeli attacks and killings targeting them, remain “messengers of the truth” in Gaza.

“If it weren’t for the journalists, Gaza would have been obliterated and erased with no one seeing or taking notice of it – because the Israeli operation has closed off and isolated Israel, separating it from the rest of the world and not letting any foreign reporters in. Even electricity, water, and telecommunications have been forbidden,” he added.

Dahdouh said it was the insistence of Palestinian journalists and their commitment to their role that helped get the message out to the world over the atrocities committed by Israeli forces in the enclave.

At least 263 journalists have been killed by Israel since October 2023, marking the highest toll of reporters in modern times.

Al-Dahdouh noted that journalists in Gaza have been targeted in their places of work, at home, in displacement camps, in vehicles, and their family members have also been attacked.

“If it wasn’t for the journalists in Gaza, we would not have known about all of these crimes and the pain, and we would not have seen change in stance around the world when it came to Israel and its global image. However, as civilians, journalists, victims, we have no hope left if Israel is not held accountable,” he said.

An further two Palestinians were killed, and several others wounded on Thursday, the official Palestinian *WAFA *news agency reported. It said that an Israeli drone targeted a car near the Jordanian Field Hospital, located southwest of Gaza City, citing medical sources on the ground.

The two people killed have been identified as Hussam Abu al-Atta and Majdi al-Ayyoubi.

At least 74,250 Palestinians have been killed and 175,278 injured in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Israeli aggression in October 2023.