The story behind the photo: Journalist’s 11-month-old son killed in Gaza strikes
The front
page photo on Thursday’s
Washington Post tells, in a single frame, a very personal story from
Wednesday’s Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. Jihad Misharawi, a BBC Arabic
journalist who lives in Gaza, carries the body of his 11-month old son, Omar,
through al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
An Israeli round hit Misharawi’s four-room home in Gaza Wednesday, killing
his son, according to BBC Middle East bureau chief Paul Danahar, who arrived in
Gaza earlier Thursday. Misharawi’s sister-in-law was also killed, and his
brother wounded. Misharawi told Danahar that, when the round landed, there was
no fighting in his residential neighborhood.
“We’re all one team in Gaza,” Danahar told me, saying that Misharawi is a BBC
video and photo editor. After spending a “few hours” with his grieving
colleague, he wrote on
Twitter, ”Questioned asked here is: if Israel can kill a man riding on a moving
motorbike (as they did last month) how did Jihad’s son get killed.”
Danahar also shared the following photos of Misharawi’s small Gaza home,
which appears to have been heavily damaged. The place where the round punctured
his ceiling is clearly visible.
BBC World editor Jon Williams sent
a memo about the young child’s death to colleagues, according to The
Telegraph:
Our thoughts are with Jihad and the rest of the team in Gaza.
This is a particularly difficult moment for the whole bureau in Gaza.
We’re fortunate to have such a committed and courageous team there. It’s a sobering reminder of the challenges facing many of our colleagues.
Reuters also had a photographer at the Gaza City hospital where Misharawi
took his son. The story that these photos tell, of loss and confusion, may help
inform the Palestinian reactions – and, as the photos continue to spread widely
on social media, perhaps the reactions from beyond the Palestinian territories –
to the violence between Israel and Gaza.
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!
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