Stop shooting the messenger!

Not just witness to human sorrow: Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh (centre), among fellow mourners at the funeral of Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa in the centre of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Dec 16. Wael had already lost his wife, children, grandchildren and several other members of his family in November in Israel’s war on Gaza. — Bloomberg

IN 2009, I covered the Gaza war known as Operation Cast Lead. International journalists, including myself, assembled in tents at El Arish crossing, on the Egyptian-Palestinian border, hoping to directly cover the news in the Gaza Strip. This was before social media empowered Gazans to broadcast live from their phones to ours. Yet it is important to remember that we can’t equate professional journalism and social media.

Journalists cover the news, but today journalists are the news. In this current conflict journalists have been killed in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel. In December 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported at least 69 journalists and media workers have died in this war since Oct 7, the deadliest period for journalists since the organisation started compiling data three decades ago.