Committee to Protect Journalists condemns killings, demands justice
Five journalists from the Al-Quds Today channel were killed early Thursday when an Israeli airstrike struck their broadcasting van near al-Awda Hospital in Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Palestinian officials and media reports.
The journalists were covering events at the hospital when the vehicle, marked with the word “PRESS” in large red letters, was hit.
The victims have been identified as Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed al-Ladah, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan and Ayman al-Jadi.
Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif reported that al-Jadi was waiting for his wife, who was in labor with their first child, outside the hospital at the time of the attack.
Footage from the scene showed the van engulfed in flames as civil defense teams worked to recover the bodies and extinguish the fire.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it targeted a vehicle carrying members of Islamic Jihad.
“Prior to the attack, many steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weapons, aerial observations and additional intelligence information,” the military said in a post on X.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the deaths, calling for accountability.
Israel has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed nearly 45,400 people, most of them women and children, since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
