Algeria’s ambassador to the United Nations, his voice breaking and on the verge of tears, read a letter to the U.N. Security Council that Associated Press freelance visual journalist Mariam Dagga wrote to her 13-year-old son before she was killed in an Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital urging him never to forget her.

Holding up a photo of 33-year-old Dagga, Amar Bendjama called her “a young and beautiful mother” whose only weapon was a camera, before reading what she posted on X to her son, Ghaith, knowing the threat of possibly losing her life in the 22-month war in Gaza.

The ambassador told the 15-member council that Dagga was one of five more journalists killed at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in two Israeli strikes Monday that saw at least 15 others killed and scores injured. “She left words that carry more weight than any official statement,” he said.

“Ghaith. You are the heart and soul of your mother,” Bendjama quoted Dagga as writing. “When I die, I want you to pray for me not to cry for me.”

“I want you never, never to forget me. I did everything to keep you happy and safe,” Bendjama, who is the Arab representative on the council, said, quoting her.

Visibly emotional, Bendjama stopped, wiped his face and eye, and then asked council members if they would just continue to making endless speeches “while Gaza burns – burns for lack of action.”