Five More Palestinian Journalists Were Killed

by Aysha Qamar

Israeli air strikes in Northern Gaza killed at least 50 Palestinians on Sunday, five identified as journalists, the government media office in Gaza confirmed.

“We strongly condemn the unprecedented and ongoing crimes of the occupation against Palestinian journalists, as it was announced that 5 of them were martyred today, and we confirm that [Israel] will not intimidate them or prevent them from continuing their role in exposing the fascist entity,” the statement read.

“The systematic crimes against journalists in the Gaza Strip require the international community and its institutions to take serious steps to stop them and hold accountable this fascist government that has made the Palestinian journalist a target for killing and revenge,” it added.

The five journalists have been identified as Saed Radwan with Al-Aqsa TV, Hamza Abu Salmiya with Sanad News Agency, Haneen Baroud with Al-Quds Foundation, Abdulrahman Al-Tanani with Sawt Al-Shaab, and Nadia Al-Sayed who freelanced with several news outlets.

According to the Government Media Office, the five recent killings bring the total number of journalists dead in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 to over 176.

The Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), has reported 129 journalists killed by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon— 123 which it has confirmed Palestinian. CPJ is still investigating several other deaths and journalists declared missing.

The deaths follow an accusation made by Israel last week on X, in which Israel Defense Forces called six Al Jazeera journalists members of terrorist groups. The Doha-based media network rejected Israel’s allegation calling it a “baseless” and “blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of the war from audiences worldwide.”

This post was first published on Muslim and republished with permission