Reports reveal the heartbreaking loss of at least six Palestinian journalists in recent days as Israel continues its bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip. Media networks and press freedom organizations have decried the tragic deaths.
Journalist Saeed al-Taweel, the editor-in-chief of Al-Khamsa News website, along with two fellow press members, lost their lives early on Tuesday while attempting to film a building in Gaza City that Israel was preparing to bomb. Al-Taweel’s final words, captured in a recording obtained by Al Jazeera, included a warning that the building was about to be bombed, and the area had been evacuated.
Despite standing at a safe distance from the target, the air attack struck a different building much closer to them. Hisham Alnwajha sustained severe injuries and was admitted to the intensive care unit at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, as reported by the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
These journalists were unmistakably identified as members of the press, wearing flak jackets and helmets as a safety precaution.
Funerals for Mohammed Subh and Saeed al-Taweel were held later, with their iconic press helmets placed on their bodies, which were draped in white sheets.
In addition to this tragic incident, two other journalists, Ibrahim Mohammad Lafi and Mohammad Jarghoun, lost their lives while reporting on Saturday. Lafi, a photographer for Ain Media, was at the Gaza Strip’s Beit Hanoon crossing, while Jarghoun, a reporter with Smart Media, was situated to the east of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, freelance journalist Mohammad el-Salhi was fatally shot on the eastern border of Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Two Palestinian photographers, Nidal al-Wahidi from the Al-Najah channel and Haitham Abdelwahid from the Ain Media agency, have been reported missing since Saturday.
Ibrahim Qanan, a correspondent for Al-Ghad channel, suffered injuries from shrapnel in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian press freedom group MADA denounced “the persistence of the Israeli occupation forces in committing more serious crimes and attacks against journalists and media outlets in Palestine.”
Sherif Mansour of the CPJ emphasized that “all sides should remember that journalists are civilians and should not be targeted.” He stressed the importance of accurate reporting during crises, with the media playing a vital role in conveying news from Gaza and Israel to the world. The CPJ has called for an investigation into el-Salhi’s death.
The ongoing conflict has claimed the lives of approximately 1,300 people on both sides since Hamas launched an attack on Israeli territory over the weekend.
Israeli shelling has also resulted in the destruction of the homes of prominent media figures, including Rami al-Sharafi, director of Zaman Radio, and Basil Khair al-Din, broadcaster for Al-Quds Today.
Media offices, including the headquarters of Al-Ayyam newspaper in the Palestine Tower, Fadel Shanaa Foundation, Shehab Agency, and Gaza FM Radio, have been targeted as well, according to MADA. The organization has called for an end to the impunity enjoyed by Israeli authorities, emphasizing that it is crucial to halt the killings of journalists and attacks on freedoms and media outlets in Palestine.
Reports have also emerged of press members being targeted by Israeli authorities. A television crew from Sky News Arabia claimed that they were assaulted and their equipment damaged by Israeli police in Ashkelon, a southern city in Israel, on Saturday.
Firas Lutfi, the channel’s correspondent, described the harrowing encounter, which included rifles aimed at his head, the confiscation of their phones, and a forced departure under police escort.
As noted by the CPJ, their requests for comment from Israeli authorities went unanswered. The CPJ pointed to its May 2022 report titled “Deadly Pattern,” which scrutinized the Israeli practice of targeting Palestinian journalists and lamented that no one has been held accountable for these tragic deaths, including the killing of Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11, 2022, which is part of a distressing, long-standing pattern of violence.