Prominent Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael Hamdan Ibrahim Al-Dahdouh, has performed the Haj pilgrimage this year on behalf of his late wife, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Dahdouh has been invited by the Saudi Ministry of Information to perform once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey.
In an interview with Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Al-Dahdouh said this is the second time in a row he has performed Haj. “This gave me additional happiness, that I am fulfilling my promise to her because I was not able to have her with me last year.”
He praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts in organizing the Hajj season, stating it is the most important human gathering and requires significant efforts to serve and facilitate pilgrims.
Watch the video here
On a personal level, Al-Dahdouh described this year as a year of sadness after he lost a number of his family members.
In October 2023, Al-Dahdouh’s wife Amna, son Mahmoud, daughter Sham, and grandson Adam were killed after an Israeli airstrike targetted their shelter home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
In January, his other son Hamza Wael Dahdouh, a journalist with the Al Jazeera television network was killed in Gaza by an Israeli airstrike.
On January 16, Al-Dahdouh arrived in Qatar for medical treatment after being wounded in an Israeli attack while reporting on the conflict.
