AP Journalist Captures Final Moments in Gaza

The final photographs taken by Mariam Dagga, a 33-year-old freelance visual journalist for The Associated Press, reveal a damaged stairwell at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, moments before an Israeli strike claimed her life and those of 21 others, including five reporters, on Monday. The images, recovered from her camera on Wednesday, show people navigating the staircase after an initial strike, with some peering out windows at the main health facility in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.

The Israeli military stated the strikes targeted a suspected Hamas surveillance camera, a claim denied by a senior Hamas official. Health officials reported that the first strike killed a Reuters cameraman during a live broadcast and another individual, followed by a second strike that killed Dagga and others. Witnesses confirmed the hospital, a hub for displaced Palestinians and medical staff, was struck twice in rapid succession.

Dagga, who frequently worked from Nasser Hospital, documented the struggles of displaced Palestinians and doctors treating wounded and malnourished children during the ongoing war. Her work captured the human toll of the conflict, bringing global attention to Gaza’s plight. On Wednesday, Algeria’s UN ambassador, Amar Bendjama, visibly emotional, read a letter Dagga wrote to her 13-year-old son, Gaith, who relocated to the UAE at the war’s outset. Holding up her photo, Bendjama described her as “a young and beautiful mother” armed only with a camera.

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In the letter, Dagga urged Gaith to pray, not cry, for her if she died, and to name a future daughter Mariam in her memory. “You are the heart and soul of your mother,” she wrote, expressing her efforts to keep him safe and happy. The UN Security Council heard her words as a testament to her courage, amplifying calls for protecting journalists in conflict zones.

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