AlHassan Hamad, an 18-year-old Palestinian journalist and freelance photographer who worked with several media outlets including Al Jazeera and Media Town TV production company during the war, was killed by a missile fired from an Israeli drone on the morning of Sunday, October 6, 2024, according to multiple news reports, and his father and employer, who spoke to CPJ. News outlets also published the last video Hamad shot shortly before he was killed.
Hamad’s remains were taken to the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza.
"All that remains of AlHassan is some of his hair and body parts weighing no more than five kilograms [11 pounds]," Abdul Rahim Hamad, Hassan’s father, told CPJ. Hassan’s father said that his son was on the roof of their house in Jabalia camp at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday filming the new Israeli incursion into the northern Gaza Strip that began hours before his killing ,when a missile from a missile from a drone “shattered him.” He believes that his son was directly targeted.
Abdul Rahim Hamad said that "AlHassan was with the journalists at the beginning of the war, and soon he began documenting like them, and he began cooperating with companies and satellite channels. His professional start was during the war, but he loved recording videos since his early childhood, so much so that after he finished high school a few months before the war began, he wished to travel to Egypt to study."
Abdul Rahim Hamad said that AlHassan received death threats in April of this year via his cell phone from an Israeli number. “In April, before the previous Israeli raid on Jabalia camp, AlHassan received threats via phone calls and messages,” Abdul Rahim Hamad said. “Our house was targeted by a missile from the Israeli occupation during the raid. After the threats, the missiles penetrated three floors, and the house was burned down, but we continued to live in it.”
Hamad’s father added that his son had two press vests, one of which they located after the attack. He told CPJthat Hamad might have been wearing it, but it also may have vanished with him from the force of the blast. The father added that Hamad had a work room on the roof of his house.
Media Town director Ashraf Mashharawi confirmed to CPJ that AlHassan Hamad had received threatening messages from Israeli phone numbers. Mashharawi said that the last time he contacted AlHassan was three hours before his death, adding: “AlHassan was creative, and I noticed his intense love for his journalistic work. He was very loyal, quick to learn, intelligent, and kind. He always took the initiative to work and move, and was always in touch with suggestions and ideas.”
Mashharawi added, “I expected a bright and brilliant future for him, and I was thinking that after the war ended, I would recruit him, train him, and hone his skills, because we saw signs of excellence in him.”
CPJ emailed the Israel Defense Forces North America Media Desk for comment. On October 8, the IDF responded, saying that it does not bear responsibility for the death threats, and “has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists,” adding that “an active combat zone has inherent risks.”