Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) revisited the death of terrorist and supposed journalist Hussam al-Dabbaka on Saturday, publishing a video about him two weeks after the anniversary of the operative’s “martyrdom.”
The video, published on Telegram channels associated with PIJ, provided additional confirmation that the man presented by the faction was the same person featured in a Guardian article listing Gazan journalists slain in the October 7 War. August 22, the date of death detailed in the video, matched those provided for the freelance Al-Quds Al-Youm camera operator.
Footage also showed al-Dabbaka with former PIJ leader Baha Abu al-Ata. This indicates that al-Dabbaka was a member of PIJ since at least 2019, as Al-Ata was killed in an airstrike during that year.
The video depicts al-Dabbaka wearing an Al-Quds Brigade headband, wearing a uniform, and posing with a rifle. In other photographs, he is seen in civilian or military garb photographing his fellow operatives.
The Committee to Protect Journalists acknowledged that al-Dabbaka worked for the PIJ-affiliated Al-Quds Al-Youm, but included him in its database of Palestinian media workers killed in the conflict. The International Federation of Journalists also listed Dabbaka, and despite a PIJ martyr poster being issued for him in May, both retain the terrorist on their databases.
According to PIJ, al-Dabbaka was a platoon commander in the Central Brigade’s Central Military Media Unit.
Al-Dabbaka was reportedly killed alongside his wife, two children, and other relatives in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Maghazi on August 2024.
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© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
