Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera this week condemned a strike that killed two of its journalists reporting in Gaza.
Correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi were killed on Wednesday while reporting in Gaza on the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political head of Hamas, in Iran earlier that day.
The journalists were in their car when it was hit in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. One of their colleagues, Anas al-Sharif, was reporting from a hospital in Gaza for Al Jazeera when the journalists’ bodies were brought in, Reuters reported.
In a statement shared with VOA, Al Jazeera described the attack as a “cold-blooded assassination” by Israeli forces and called for immediate legal action.
“This latest attack on Al Jazeera journalists is part of a systematic targeting campaign against the network’s journalists and their families since October 2023,” said the statement.
Israel, in a joint Israel Defense Forces and Israel Securities Authorities statement posted to X, said a joint operation “struck and eliminated” a Hamas operative who took part in the October 7 Hamas terror attack.
The statement said al-Ghoul was involved in the Hamas military wing and “actively involved in recording and publicizing attacks against IDF troops.”
Jazeera’s statement to VOA highlighted al-Ghoul’s coverage of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital and northern neighborhoods.
Despite hardships, including the loss of family members and health struggles, al-Ghoul remained committed to his work, documenting the realities of life in Gaza, the statement said.
Mohamed Moawad, managing editor of Al Jazeera, expressed his condolences for his colleague on X.
Moawad said, “Ismail was a determined journalist who refused to succumb to hunger, illness, and the loss of his brother. He relentlessly covered the events and delivered the reality of Gaza to the world through Al Jazeera.”
The network urged immediate legal action against the perpetrators and called on international legal institutions to hold Israel accountable for what it described as systematic targeting of journalists.
United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric expressed condolences to Al Jazeera, saying, “It is clear that journalists need to be protected.”
“These and other similar incidents must be fully and transparently investigated, and there must be accountability,” Dujarric said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded an “unprecedented” number of journalists and media workers killed in the conflict. As of August 1, 2024, CPJ had documented 113 journalists and media workers killed.
“Since the war in Gaza started, journalists have been paying the highest price – their lives – for their reporting. Without protection, equipment, international presence, communications, or food and water, they are still doing their crucial jobs to tell the world the truth,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna in New York in a statement.
The deaths are part of a wider civilian toll since Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people and captured about 250 hostages in the October 7 attack on Israel.
Israel says it believes Hamas is still holding 116 hostages, including 42 the military says are dead. Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 38,200 Palestinians, as of July, according to the territory’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby expressed condolences to the families of the journalists and acknowledged the dangerous conditions media face in conflict.
“We obviously continue to recognize and honor the service that journalists do around the world, particularly in places like Gaza where it is very dangerous. It’s a combat zone.”
“We want to make sure that press freedoms are observed and that reporters are allowed to do their job,” Kirby added.
Al Jazeera remains one of the few media outlets working in Gaza. But it has suffered losses. The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented the deaths of at least seven journalists and media workers affiliated with the broadcaster since October 7.
The network’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael al-Dahdouh, left the region in January following Israeli strikes that killed his wife, multiple children and a colleague. He himself was wounded, and his son, also a journalist, was killed.
On May 5, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his government had “unanimously” decided to shut down the news channel.
In the statement, Al Jazeera vowed to continue its coverage.
Some information in this report came from Reuters.
