Five journalists have been killed in an Israeli strike in the vicinity of a hospital in central Gaza. The journalists from the Al-Quds Today channel were covering events near al-Awda Hospital, located in the Nuseirat refugee camp, when their broadcasting van was hit by an Israeli air strike.
Footage from the scene circulating on social media shows a vehicle engulfed in flames.
A screenshot taken from a video of the white-coloured van shows the word “press” in large red lettering across the back of the vehicle.
The deceased journalists have been named as Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed al-Ladah, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan and Ayman al-Jadi.
Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif said that Ayman al-Jadi had been waiting for his wife in front of the hospital while she was in labour to give birth to their first child.
Civil defence teams retrieved the bodies of the victims and extinguished a fire at the scene, the Quds News Network said.
Israel’s military said it had carried out a “targeted” attack against a vehicle carrying members of Islamic Jihad and that it would continue to take action against “terrorist organizations” in Gaza.
“Prior to the attack, many steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weapons, aerial observations, and additional intelligence information,” the military said in a post on X.
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According to Gaza health authorities 201 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The most recent attack occurred earlier this morning when five journalists were killed in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in the central Nuseirat refugee camp. One of them was awaiting the birth of his child.
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has been considered the deadliest for journalists and media workers in the world in 30 years, according to media freedom organisations.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) earlier this month condemned Israel’s killing of four Palestinian journalists in the space of a week, calling on the international community to hold the country accountable for its attacks against the media.
At least 141 journalists have been killed in Israel’s war in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the CPJ.
