Israeli attack on Gaza kills three journalists, first responders say

Three Palestinian journalists were killed in an Israeli attack in central Gaza, first responders said.

Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency said their car was hit in the Zahra area and identified them as Mohammed Salah Kashta, Anas Ghenim and Abdul Raouf Al Saud. It is understood they had been working for an Egyptian rescue organization.

The Israeli military said it struck “several suspects operating Hamas-affiliated drones … in a manner that posed a threat to the Israeli military.” It added that the incident was under investigation.

Eight more people, including two children, were killed by Israeli artillery and gunfire across Gaza on Wednesday, the Hamas-run health ministry said.

Three people, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed by Israeli tank fire elsewhere in central Gaza, and a 13-year-old boy and a woman were killed by Israeli fire in the southern district of Khan Younis, medics said, Reuters reported.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday morning that its troops had killed a terrorist who “crossed the yellow line and approached” them, without mentioning a specific location. The yellow line demarcates the territory of Gaza that remains under Israeli control under the ceasefire agreement.

According to the Health Ministry, at least 466 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on October 10.

The Israeli military said three soldiers were killed in attacks by Palestinian armed groups during the same period.

The three photojournalists who were killed on Wednesday were reportedly working for the Egyptian Relief Committee in the Gaza Strip, photographing its camps for displaced persons.

A spokesman for the humanitarian group said the car that was hit was marked with the group’s logo and was “targeted during a humanitarian mission in which three people were killed”.

Hamas called the attack a “dangerous escalation of flagrant ceasefire violations.”

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said this constituted a war crime and was evidence of what it called “Israel’s systematic policy to silence Palestinian voices, hinder the dissemination of facts and conceal crimes committed against civilians,” according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Abdel Raouf Saud was a regular contributor to French news agency AFP, which expressed “tremendous sadness” at his death and called for a “comprehensive and transparent investigation.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also said it was “shocked”.

“Israel has advanced technology capable of identifying targets and is obligated under international law to protect journalists,” said regional director Sarah Kudar.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented that Israeli artillery fire in Gaza has killed at least 206 journalists and media workers since the war began, making it the deadliest conflict for journalists on record.

Before Wednesday, two journalists had been killed in Israeli attacks during the ceasefire, and a third journalist was killed by members of a Palestinian armed group, according to the U.S.-based group.

International news outlets, including the BBC, rely on local journalists in Gaza because Israel does not allow them to independently send foreign journalists into the area. Some journalists were brought into Gaza under controlled conditions by the Israeli military.

The war was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage.

Israel responded to the attack with a military operation in Gaza that killed more than 71,550 people, according to the Gaza Strip’s health ministry.