A Spanish artist paints an artistic mural for Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh in the British capital, London (French)
A picture of Al Jazeera's bureau chief in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian journalist Wael Al-Dahdouh, appeared on a mural painted by the Spanish artist Nacho Wells on a street in the British capital, London.
Al-Dahdouh’s mural comes as part of a project recently launched by the “Creative Beginnings” artistic platform to support brave journalists who put their lives on the line to show the world the reality of life in Gaza.
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The platform said in a post on Instagram, “We are forever grateful, in awe and inspired by these true heroes who are shining a light on what is happening (…) We firmly believe that art is the perfect means to spark discussions and bring communities together.”
She added, “The Israeli army has killed more journalists in 10 weeks than any other army or entity has killed in any single year. With each journalist killed, it becomes more difficult to document and understand the war.”
Al-Dahdouh's mural comes hours before he underwent surgery on his right hand today, Tuesday, in the Qatari capital, Doha, following the injury he suffered as a result of the Israeli bombing that targeted him and the martyr Al-Jazeera photographer, Samer Abu Daqqa, during coverage in Khan Yunis.
Al-Dahdouh arrived at Doha Airport on January 17 on board a Qatari evacuation plane that he took from Al-Arish after leaving the Rafah border crossing.
The Al Jazeera correspondent appeared in a video clip asking for prayers from his fans before entering the operating room.
“Maybe we will see you after the procedure goes well.” Colleague Wael Al-Dahdouh asks his fans to pray before undergoing surgery on his hand in Doha pic.twitter.com/cha6cwCPzI
- Al Jazeera Egypt (@AJA_Egypt) January 30, 2024
On January 10, Syrian graffiti artist Aziz Al-Asmar painted a mural of Wael Al-Dahdouh on the wall of a school in the city of Idlib, captioning it with the word “Malish.”
On January 18, the famous Irish street artist Emmaline Blake painted a mural for Wael Al-Dahdouh in the capital, Dublin.
Blake wrote on her Instagram page, "Thank you, Wael Al-Dahdouh, for relentlessly showing the world what is happening in Gaza...the strength and humanity of the Palestinian people, and the crimes that Israel is committing against them."
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She added, "I cannot imagine the pain, shock and grief this man is going through. After every blow he received, he would go straight back to the camera, stand strong and tell us about the atrocities committed by Israel. The power is incomprehensible, and it is a power that no human being should have."
On January 8, the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate Council decided to award Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Al Dahdouh the Egyptian Press Freedom Award for the year 2024.
Last December, "Knack" magazine, the most widely circulated magazine in Belgium, chose the director of Al Jazeera's office in Gaza to be the newspaper's Personality of the Year for 2023.
In its annual issue, the magazine devoted 6 pages to telling the story of Wael Al-Dahdouh under the title “Journalists are targeted in Gaza,” saying that the man who reported the news found himself the news when his family was targeted in an Israeli bombing on October 25 last year.
Fourteen members of the Palestinian journalist’s family were martyred, including his son, daughter, wife, and members of his family, as a result of an Israeli bombing that targeted their home in Gaza, last October.
His son, journalist Hamza, was also martyred on January 7, along with journalist Mustafa Thuraya, in a bombing that targeted them west of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Source: Al Jazeera + social networking sites