Gaza Journalist Killed by Israeli Fire in War’s Deadliest Period for Media

On Monday, the health ministry in Gaza, governed by Hamas, and a Palestinian news site reported that a journalist named Ibrahim Muharab was killed by Israeli fire on Sunday in the southern part of the territory. Muharab, who worked for the Palestinian Daily News, was found dead in Hamad City, a large apartment complex built by Qatar, now reduced to ruins. His body was transported to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, according to the health ministry.

Two other journalists who were with Muharab at the time of the incident were injured and also taken to Nasser Hospital. Footage obtained by AFP, though not independently verified, shows an Israeli armored vehicle advancing toward a neighborhood controlled by Hamas while gunfire is exchanged. In one of these videos, a man wearing a jacket labeled “Press” is seen fleeing from the gunfire, and a voice can be heard asking, “Ibrahim is wounded, where is he?”

About 30 people gathered at Nasser Hospital on Monday to mourn Muharab. His body was laid on the ground under a white plastic tarp, with his bulletproof jacket marked “Press” placed on top as a tribute, according to footage from AFPTV.

When contacted by AFP, the Israeli army declined to comment on Muharab’s death without receiving specific geographic coordinates of the incident and his identification details. A spokesperson for the army stated that they “have never, and will never, deliberately target journalists.”

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned Muharab’s death as an “assassination” and accused the Israeli army of conducting an “organized campaign… to kill journalists” in Gaza. Gaza journalist Ibrahim Qanan, who was at the hospital, accused Israel of “killing the truth by trying to wipe out all traces of transmission towards the outside world of what is happening in the Gaza Strip.”

The Israeli army has previously been accused of killing several journalists in Gaza, alleging that they were affiliated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad’s armed factions.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported on Monday that “at least 113 journalists and media workers” have been killed since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7. This period is noted as the “deadliest for journalists” since CPJ started keeping records in 1992.