Key facts
- Al Jazeera cameraman Ahmed Washah was killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza.
- Three other Palestinian journalists were killed in a separate Israeli strike in the same area.
- The Israeli military stated it struck suspects operating a drone affiliated with Hamas.
- Al Jazeera and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the killings.
- The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented over 200 journalists killed in Gaza since October 2023.
Al Jazeera cameraman Ahmed Wishah was killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza's Bureij refugee camp on Saturday. The news network stated that Wishah's death brings the number of Palestinian journalists killed since the start of Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023 to at least 260. Al Jazeera condemned the strike as a "heinous crime" and a "flagrant violation of all international laws and norms," asserting it reflects a "continued systematic policy of targeting journalists and silencing the voice of truth."
The Israeli military confirmed carrying out the strike, stating that troops identified and struck "several suspects who operated a drone affiliated with Hamas." The military spokesperson did not immediately provide evidence but said further details would be issued.
Separately, three other Palestinian journalists—Mohammed Salah Qashta, Anas Ghneim, and Abdul Raouf Shaat—were killed in a different Israeli strike in central Gaza. They were reportedly working for an Egyptian relief organization, and their vehicle bore the organization's logo. Abdul Raouf Shaat was a regular contributor to AFP.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate declared the strike a war crime and evidence of a "systematic Israeli policy aimed at silencing the Palestinian voice, obstructing the transmission of facts, and concealing crimes committed against civilians." The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) stated that Israel, possessing advanced technology, has an obligation under international law to protect journalists. The CPJ has documented the killing of at least 206 journalists and media workers by Israeli fire in Gaza since the start of the war, making it the deadliest conflict for journalists on record.
Medics reported that 11 Palestinians, including two boys and the three journalists, were killed in separate incidents across Gaza on Wednesday. This brings the total Palestinian deaths in Gaza to over 71,550 since the war began, according to the territory's health ministry. The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. The Israeli military reported three of its soldiers killed by Palestinian armed groups during the same period.