Next to hospital

5 journalists killed in attack in Gaza Strip

(Bild: APA/AFP)

Five journalists from a Palestinian television station are said to have been killed in an Israeli attack in the central Gaza Strip. They are said to have been in a van parked in front of the Al-Awda hospital. A reporter's wife had just given birth there. 

Pictures showed a burnt-out van with the word "Press" written on it. The Al-Quds Today channel, for which the journalists were working, also stated that the vehicle was clearly marked when it was attacked. According to Palestinian sources, it was a broadcasting van. 

The grief for the journalists following the attack is enormous.(Bild: APA/Associated Press)

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

(Bild: APA/AFP )

Woman in labor during attack
As reported by the BBC, among others, the wife of a journalist was in labor in the hospital while he was waiting for her with colleagues. It is said to have been the couple's first child. 

In a post, the Israel Defense Forces stated that they had killed terrorists "who were posing as journalists":

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), on the other hand, stated that they had targeted "Islamic Jihad activists disguised as journalists" in order to prevent them from endangering the civilian population. It was a targeted attack on the vehicle. The bodies of the victims were recovered after the incident and the fire was extinguished. 

This video shows the press vehicle in full fire: 

Reporters Without Borders: 'Unprecedented massacre'
At the beginning of December, the organization Reporters Without Borders reported that more than 145 journalists had been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023. The NGO described the high number of deaths as an "unprecedented massacre".

An estimate by the Committee to Protect Journalists comes to a similarly high number and called for Israel to be held accountable for its attacks on the media even before the current incident. The Palestinian Journalists' Association reported an even higher death toll last week: according to the organization, more than 190 journalists have been killed and at least 400 injured since the beginning of the war.