Palestinian journalist honored posthumously with prestigious award for courage amid Zionist regime’s genocide

At its 75th-anniversary World Congress in Vienna on Friday, the IPI named seven journalists as World Press Freedom Heroes, including Dagga.

The awardees, who also hailed from Georgia, Peru, Ethiopia, and the United States among other places, were celebrated for their courage in confronting repression, propaganda, and war machines.

“As IPI marks 75 years of defending press freedom, we chose to honor seven journalists who truly embody what it means to be a press freedom hero…,” said IPI Executive Director Scott Griffen.

Dagga, who chronicled Gaza’s devastation for global outlets, including the Associated Press and Independent Arabia, was killed while documenting the impact of Israeli airstrikes on civilians on August 25.

She was among five journalists, who lost their lives in a “double-tap” Israeli strike on the Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip.

Overall, the attacks claimed around two dozen lives, hitting the city amid the Zionist regime’s war of genocide on the coastal sliver, which had begun in October 2023.

The other journalists targeted in the strike used to work for Al Jazeera and Reuters among other news agencies.

The United Nations human rights spokesperson reacted to the atrocity, saying the high number of media workers martyred in the genocide “raises many, many questions about the targeting of journalists.”

Hundreds of journalists have been martyred by the war that has claimed the lives of 62,800-plus Palestinians, most women and children.

The Friday ceremony also heard emotional tributes from other awardees, who warned of the mounting threats to journalists everywhere.