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Israeli Strike on Press Van Kills Five Palestinian Journalists in Gaza [1]
['Jake Johnson', 'Jake Johnson Is A Senior Editor', 'Staff Writer For Common Dreams.']
Date: 2024-12-26 15:23:51+00:00
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 Eyereported 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.
The Israeli military claimed without providing evidence that the five men killed in the strike 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 Guardianinvestigation 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 Guardiannoted Thursday. "Working for an organization such as 'Al-Quds Today' does not make someone a target."
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