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Relatives of five journalists killed in an Israeli airstrike mourn as they hold a funeral ceremony for them at al-Awda Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza on December 26, 2024.
(Photo: Moiz Salhi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Israeli Strike on Press Van Kills Five Palestinian Journalists in Gaza
"Journalists are civilians and must always be protected," said the Committee to Protect Journalists' Middle East and North Africa Program.
Dec 26, 2024
The Israeli military bombed a clearly marked press vehicle in central Gaza early Thursday, killing five journalists in an attack that the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned as a "heinous crime."
The journalists killed were Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed al-Ladah, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, and Ayman al-Jadi. All of them worked for "Al-Quds Today," a local television channel.
Middle East Eye reported that the slain journalists were "outside al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp when their van was struck by an Israeli strike on Thursday morning."
Hani Aburezeq, a Middle East Eye reporter at the scene, said the broadcast van "was entirely burnt and destroyed."
"It was fully engulfed in flames," Aburezeq added.
Al Jazeera reported that one of the journalists killed in the strike was "waiting for his wife in front of the hospital while she was in labor to give birth to their first child."
The Israeli military claimed without providing evidence that the five men were militants posing as journalists. Israel has repeatedly accused journalists working in Gaza of being militants; international law prohibits the targeting of journalists unless they "directly participate in hostilities."
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), more than 130 Palestinian journalists in Gaza have been killed since Israel's massive assault on the enclave began following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
CPJ's Middle East and North Africa Program said Thursday that it is "devastated by the reports that five journalists and media workers were killed inside their broadcasting vehicle by an Israeli strike."
"Journalists are civilians and must always be protected," the group added.
A Guardian investigation released earlier this year found that "amid a loosening of the Israel Defense Force's interpretation of the laws of war after the deadly Hamas-led attacks on 7 October, some within the IDF appear to have viewed journalists working in Gaza for outlets controlled by or affiliated with Hamas to be legitimate military targets."
"Under the Geneva conventions, a journalist can lose their civilian status if they engage in planning or carrying out combat operations," The Guardian noted Thursday. "Working for an organization such as 'Al-Quds Today' does not make someone a target."
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The Israeli military bombed a clearly marked press vehicle in central Gaza early Thursday, killing five journalists in an attack that the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned as a "heinous crime."
The journalists killed were Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed al-Ladah, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, and Ayman al-Jadi. All of them worked for "Al-Quds Today," a local television channel.
Middle East Eye reported that the slain journalists were "outside al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp when their van was struck by an Israeli strike on Thursday morning."
Hani Aburezeq, a Middle East Eye reporter at the scene, said the broadcast van "was entirely burnt and destroyed."
"It was fully engulfed in flames," Aburezeq added.
Al Jazeera reported that one of the journalists killed in the strike was "waiting for his wife in front of the hospital while she was in labor to give birth to their first child."
The Israeli military claimed without providing evidence that the five men were militants posing as journalists. Israel has repeatedly accused journalists working in Gaza of being militants; international law prohibits the targeting of journalists unless they "directly participate in hostilities."
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), more than 130 Palestinian journalists in Gaza have been killed since Israel's massive assault on the enclave began following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
CPJ's Middle East and North Africa Program said Thursday that it is "devastated by the reports that five journalists and media workers were killed inside their broadcasting vehicle by an Israeli strike."
"Journalists are civilians and must always be protected," the group added.
A Guardian investigation released earlier this year found that "amid a loosening of the Israel Defense Force's interpretation of the laws of war after the deadly Hamas-led attacks on 7 October, some within the IDF appear to have viewed journalists working in Gaza for outlets controlled by or affiliated with Hamas to be legitimate military targets."
"Under the Geneva conventions, a journalist can lose their civilian status if they engage in planning or carrying out combat operations," The Guardian noted Thursday. "Working for an organization such as 'Al-Quds Today' does not make someone a target."
The Israeli military bombed a clearly marked press vehicle in central Gaza early Thursday, killing five journalists in an attack that the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned as a "heinous crime."
The journalists killed were Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed al-Ladah, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, and Ayman al-Jadi. All of them worked for "Al-Quds Today," a local television channel.
Middle East Eye reported that the slain journalists were "outside al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp when their van was struck by an Israeli strike on Thursday morning."
Hani Aburezeq, a Middle East Eye reporter at the scene, said the broadcast van "was entirely burnt and destroyed."
"It was fully engulfed in flames," Aburezeq added.
Al Jazeera reported that one of the journalists killed in the strike was "waiting for his wife in front of the hospital while she was in labor to give birth to their first child."
The Israeli military claimed without providing evidence that the five men were militants posing as journalists. Israel has repeatedly accused journalists working in Gaza of being militants; international law prohibits the targeting of journalists unless they "directly participate in hostilities."
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), more than 130 Palestinian journalists in Gaza have been killed since Israel's massive assault on the enclave began following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
CPJ's Middle East and North Africa Program said Thursday that it is "devastated by the reports that five journalists and media workers were killed inside their broadcasting vehicle by an Israeli strike."
"Journalists are civilians and must always be protected," the group added.
A Guardian investigation released earlier this year found that "amid a loosening of the Israel Defense Force's interpretation of the laws of war after the deadly Hamas-led attacks on 7 October, some within the IDF appear to have viewed journalists working in Gaza for outlets controlled by or affiliated with Hamas to be legitimate military targets."
"Under the Geneva conventions, a journalist can lose their civilian status if they engage in planning or carrying out combat operations," The Guardian noted Thursday. "Working for an organization such as 'Al-Quds Today' does not make someone a target."
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