‘Deliberate Assassination’: 3 Journalists Among 11 Killed by Israeli Forces in Gaza
The targeting of the journalists, including one who had done work for CBS and AFP, marks Israel’s latest assault on the press in Gaza.
Israel forces killed 11 Palestinians on Wednesday, including three journalists, marking Israel’s latest assault on the people documenting its ongoing genocide.
Officials at hospitals in Gaza said two 13-year-old boys were also among those killed in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire on Wednesday.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate identified the journalists as Abdul Raouf Shaat, Mohammed Salah Qashta, and Anas Ghoneim. They were reporting on Palestinian displacement when the Israeli military struck their vehicle in Al-Zahraa City, the syndicate said. Local journalists said the Egyptian Relief Committee was sponsoring their work, and the targeted vehicle had been known to the military, The Guardian reported.
Shaat, who celebrated his wedding just weeks earlier, was a freelance cameraman for CBS and AFP. The French news agency said he was not on assignment for it at the time of the assault and demanded a probe into the killing. CBS News reported Wednesday evening that colleagues in London remembered Shaat as “a brave journalist” who was “deeply loved by everyone who knew or worked with him.” The outlet, which is now led by self-described “Zionist fanatic” Bari Weiss, had not publicly released a statement as of Wednesday evening.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned Israel’s “deliberate assassination,” adding that targeting journalists – a war crime – is “part of a policy adopted by the Israeli occupation to silence the Palestinian voice, prevent the transmission of truth, and conceal crimes committed against civilians in the Gaza Strip.” Israel has killed over 260 journalists and media workers in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the UN. The work of Palestinian journalists, who are also contending with the genocide themselves, has been vital, as Israel continues to block access to the besieged enclave for foreign reporters.
The Israeli military called Wednesday’s attack on the journalists a precise strike against “several suspects” who, it said without evidence, were operating a drone associated with Hamas and posed a threat to its troops. The military said the incident was under review (typically, such “reviews” are not publicly released).
Wednesday’s killings are the latest Israeli violations of the so-called ceasefire that began in October. Israel has killed more than 466 Palestinians – including over 100 children. Others have suffered preventable deaths because of Israel’s blockade of critical humanitarian aid, including babies who have frozen to death.
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