Gaza: Seven Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli airstrikes

At least seven Palestinian journalists have been killed in Israel’s ongoing attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip, media watchdog and press freedom groups have reported.

In a recording obtained by Al Jazeera, Saeed Al-Taweel, editor-in-chief of the Al-Khamsa News website, could be heard identifying a building in Gaza City that Israel said it would soon bomb, before he and two other members of the press were later killed on Tuesday.  

In his last words on the recording, Al-Taweel said: "Unfortunately, they have sent a warning notice to the Hiji building just now that it will be bombed."

"The area has been evacuated entirely. Women, men, the elderly, kids have all completely fled the area." 

Al-Taweel, Mohammed Subh and Hisham Alnwajha were stood at a safe distance from the stated target when the air strike instead hit a building which was closer to them. 

Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Alnwajha suffered serious injuries and was admitted to the intensive care room at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, while Subh and Al-Taweel died in the attack. 

Subh and Al-Taweel’s funerals took places hours after their passing in Gaza City, where press helmets worn by media representatives were placed on their bodies which were shrouded in white sheets. 

Palestinian journalists in Gaza take part in the funeral of their fellow Saed Al-Taweel and Mohammed Soboh, who were murdered in an Israeli airstrike targeting a street containing press offices in Gaza City last night. pic.twitter.com/WPlOOe6jQD

— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) October 10, 2023

On Saturday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) confirmed the death of Palestinian journalist Mohammad El-Salhi, who was shot dead near the Al-Bureij Palestinian refugee camp in central Gaza.  

The CPJ urged the Israeli army to "thoroughly investigate the killing of Palestinian journalist Mohammad El-Salhi, identify those responsible for the shooting, and hold them to account," said Sherif Mansour, the press freedom group's Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator.

"Israel’s army must take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of journalists covering the Israel-Gaza conflict," Mansour said.

He also highlighted alarming reports of the growing number of Palestinian journalists' deaths.

"We call on all sides to remember that journalists are civilians and should not be targeted. Accurate reporting is critical during times of crisis and the media has a vital role to play in bringing news from Gaza and Israel to the world," Mansour said.

According to Palestinian press freedom group MADA and the Middle East and the North Africa-focused Journalist Support Committee (JSC), Ain Media photographer Ibrahim Lafi died at Gaza's Beit Hanoon crossing, while Al-Najah channel photographer Nidal Al Wahidi and Ain Media photographer Haitham Abdel Wahed are noted as missing persons.  

Media coverage: "These three kids, Hadi, Sham and Ali, along with their mother, journalist Salam Mima, and their father, have been wiped off the civil registry as a result of an Israeli airstrike which flattened their home upon their heads in Gaza." pic.twitter.com/SbiM4UH28r

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 10, 2023

Journalist Salam Mima, her husband Muhammad al-Masry, and their three children, Hadi, Ali, and Sham, died when Israeli forces bombed their home in the Jabalia camp, located north of the Gaza Strip, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

Other confirmed deaths include journalists Omar Abu Shawish, Asaad Shamlikh and Mohammad Jarghoun.  

Israeli forces have killed more than 50 Palestinian journalists since 2000, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS).

On 11 May last year, Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank. Israel's army initially denied the killing, and no one has yet been held accountable for her death.