Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate Grants Wael al-Dahdouh 2024 Freedom of Press Award

Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate granted renowned Palestinian journalist and Al-Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh the 2024 Freedom of Press Award on 7 January — in honor of the resilience of al-Dahdouh and other Palestinian journalists.

“Al-Dahdouh’s nomination comes in honor of the Palestinian journalists who were martyred and paid their lives for sending the truth and exposing the genocidal crimes against the Palestinian people. By their resistance, they exposed the Zionist false narrative and the Western media lies and made victory for the truth,” the statement by Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate read.

Al-Dahdouh has presented unwavering dedication to his profession, despite losing members of his family following the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. He bid farewell to his eldest son — Hamza al-Dahdouh — who was killed in an Israeli airstrike alongside journalist Mustafa al-Thurya in Khan Younis on Sunday, 7 January.

The syndicate — under the leadership of its head Khaled al-Balshi — approved on 3 January the Board of Trustees of the Egyptian Press Awards’ recommendation to nominate al-Dahdouh for the award.

The Board of Trustees of the Egyptian Press Award nominated al-Dahdouh on 17 December in acknowledgment of his professional contributions and sacrifices during weeks of covering the ongoing war on Gaza.

The war on Gaza marked the highest number of journalist deaths in a single conflict recorded by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) since 1990, with 110 journalists and media workers killed since 7 October.