Hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian activists rallied in Nazareth on Friday, donning blue-and-white “Press” stickers to honor journalists killed in Gaza and demand an end to the war. The stickers, mimicking those on journalists’ flak jackets, carried a clear message: “Journalism is not a crime.” Protesters held photos of slain Palestinian journalists and banged empty pots to symbolize Gaza’s hunger crisis, while a banner declared, “Don’t Assassinate the Truth.”
The rally came days after the death of Mariam Abu Dagga, a 33-year-old freelance journalist for The Associated Press, killed in a double-tap Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Monday. The attack, which killed five journalists and at least 15 others, targeted a hospital stairwell where Dagga was filming. The war, sparked by a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages, has claimed over 63,000 lives in Gaza, including nearly 200 journalists, per the territory’s Health Ministry.
Dagga, a Khan Younis native, documented the war’s toll on civilians, capturing images of displaced families and overworked medics. Her final photos, recovered from her camera, showed the damaged stairwell moments before the second strike ended her life. The Israeli military claimed it targeted a Hamas surveillance camera, offering no evidence, and called the strike a “mishap.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement did little to ease the pain of Dagga’s family.
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In Khan Younis, 180 kilometers from Nazareth, Mariam’s father, Riyad, mourned in his tent, overwhelmed by grief. “I collapsed when I heard Mariam was martyred,” he told the AP, tears falling as he viewed a video of his daughter. Mariam’s sister, Nada, who was with her at the hospital, recalled their final moment: “She was filming on the stairs. She looked at me and smiled.” Her brother, Mohamed, found her body among her colleagues’ in the stairwell, carrying her to the operations room in vain.
Dagga’s journalism, recognized with an internal AP award, focused on Gaza’s human suffering. Despite losing her brother in 2018 and supporting her family through displacement, she continued her work, raising her 13-year-old son, Ghaith, now in the UAE. In her will, she asked him to name a future daughter after her. “She carried her camera into the heart of danger,” said colleague Samaheer Farhan.
The Nazareth protest highlighted the war’s devastating impact on journalists, with over 270 media workers killed since October 2023, per Al Jazeera. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the “systematic targeting” of Gaza’s press, noting that 70% of global journalist deaths since the war began occurred in Palestine. Rally organizers called for a ceasefire and accountability, emphasizing that journalists like Dagga risked everything to reveal the truth.
As Nazareth’s streets echoed with calls for peace, Mariam’s legacy underscored the rally’s urgency. Her final images, showing resilience amid chaos, remain a testament to her courage and the cost of reporting from Gaza.
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