Palestinian journalist breaks down on camera reporting his children’s killings

Palestinian cameraman Mohammed Alaloul holds the shrouded body of one of his children killed in an Israeli strike on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp (Picture: AFP)

This is the heartbreaking moment a journalist broke down after learning that his children were killed in a bombardment in Gaza.

Mohammad Al-Aloul, a photographer for Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, was reporting elsewhere when Israeli forces struck his neighbourhood in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp.

Four of his five children were among the lifeless bodies being dug up from under the piles of smoking rubble, which were once their home.

Among the dozens of victims were also four of Mohammad’s brothers and their children.

He broke down while recalling to the camera the moment he learnt of their death.

‘I was working when I heard that an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential district in Al-Maghazi and that there were martyrs and injured,’ he said.

‘The news began to trickle slowly, telling me your daughter is wounded, your son is wounded.

‘I got in touch with colleagues at the Al-Aqsa hospital and in the end I found out that my four children were killed.’

Mohammad bids his final farewell to his family members (Picture: Shutterstock)

Family and friends of the Palestinian cameraman try to console him (Picture: AFP)

Tears began rolling down Mohammad’s cheeks as he listed the names of his sons and only daughter, and nephews killed in the attack.

People who had gathered at the entrance of the hospital embraced the journalist – still wearing his blue helmet and flak jacket – as he wept in their arms.

He was later seen carrying the remains of one of his children wrapped in a white sheet.

Salama Marouf, head of the Hamas government media office, said the strike on the refugee camp had killed at least 38 Palestinians and wounded 100, adding that an unknown number of people were missing.

Bureij refugee camp in the Deir Al-Balah governorate (Picture: MEGA)

A Palestinian news agency earlier reported 51 dead.

Videos taken at Al-Aqsa showed multiple bodies laid out under white tarpaulins.

Saeed al-Nejma was asleep with his family when the blast hit his neighbourhood in Al-Maghazi.

‘All night I and the other men were trying to pick the dead from the rubble. We got children, dismembered, torn-apart flesh,’ he said.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Warning: This article contains content some readers may find upsetting.