Family of Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Dahdouh killed in Israeli airstrike

Wael Dahdouh's family members were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit Nuseirat Refugee Camp

The family of Al Jazeera's chief correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Wael Dahdouh, was killed in an airstrike by Israel on October 25. The dead include his wife, son, and daughter.

According to Al Jazeera, Dahdouh's family members were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit Nuseirat Refugee Camp, located in an area of Gaza where the military had encouraged people to go to stay safe. It said a number of other relatives were still missing, and it remained unclear how many others were killed.

Dahdouh's family were among the more than one million Gaza residents displaced by the war, now in its 19th day, and were staying in a house in Nuseirat when the strike hit, the network said.

The Israeli strikes have killed more than 6,500 Palestinians, Gaza's Health Ministry says. Business Standard could not independently verify the death toll.

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According to the Israeli government, the fighting has killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack.

Late Wednesday, Al Jazeera replayed the moment Dahdouh was informed about the deaths. In an audio recording, he is heard picking up a phone and telling a frantic caller multiple times, "Who are you with?"

In footage of Dahdouh, broadcast by Al Jazeera soon after the news broke, he was seen entering al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza before giving way to grief as he peered over the body of his dead son.

"They take revenge on us in our children?" he said, kneeling over his son's bloodied body, still wearing his protective press vest from that day's work. Dahdouh's grandson was declared dead two hours later.

In a statement, Al Jazeera said, "The indiscriminate assault by the Israeli Occupation forces resulted in the tragic loss of his wife, son, and daughter, while the rest of his family is buried under the rubble."

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It added, "Al Jazeera is deeply concerned about the safety, and well-being of our colleagues in Gaza and hold the Israeli authorities responsible for their security...We urge the international community to intervene and put an end to these attacks on civilians, thereby safeguarding innocent lives."

Israel has threatened to shut down Al Jazeera over its war coverage. Al Jazeera is a Qatari state-owned media network.