In a concerning development, three Palestinian journalists have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza. The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, has sparked outrage and renewed concerns about the safety of media workers in the conflict-ridden region.
According to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency, the journalists were travelling in a car that was struck in the al-Zahra area. The victims were named as Mohammed Salah Qeshta, Anas Ghunaim and Abdul Raouf Shaat, and they were reported to have been working for an Egyptian relief organisation.
The Israeli military has acknowledged the strike, stating that it targeted “several suspects who operated a drone affiliated with Hamas… in a manner that posed a threat” to its troops. However, the military added that the incident is currently under examination.
The tragic deaths come amidst a broader escalation of violence in Gaza, with the Hamas-run health ministry reporting that a total of eight people, including two children, were killed by Israeli artillery and gunfire across the territory on Wednesday.
In a separate incident, a 10-year-old boy and a woman were also killed by Israeli forces in the southern Khan Younis area, according to the Reuters news agency.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has condemned the strikes as a “dangerous escalation of the flagrant violations of the ceasefire agreement” and a “war crime” that is part of a “systematic Israeli policy aimed at silencing the Palestinian voice.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a US-based organisation, has documented the killing of at least 206 journalists and media workers by Israeli fire in Gaza since the start of the conflict – making it the deadliest conflict for journalists ever recorded.
Before Wednesday’s incident, two journalists had been killed in Israeli strikes during the ceasefire, and a third had been killed by members of a Palestinian armed group, according to the CPJ’s data.
The ongoing violence and the targeting of media workers have raised serious concerns about the ability of journalists to operate safely in Gaza, which has become increasingly difficult for international news outlets to access independently.
As the situation in the region remains volatile, the international community will be closely watching to see how this latest incident is addressed and whether steps can be taken to protect the lives of those reporting from the frontlines of the conflict.
