Beirut, December 26, 2024—Israeli forces killed five journalists and media workers with Al-Quds Al-Youm TV, a channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group, in a Thursday strike on their vehicle outside Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. The Associated Press reported that footage showed the van had visible press markings.
“CPJ denounces Israel’s killing of five journalists working for Al-Quds Al-Youm TV,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director in New York. “The Israeli strike on their vehicle, which was clearly marked ‘Press,’ means that at least nine Gazan journalists have been killed in less than two weeks. The international community must act now to protect Palestinian journalists in Gaza and end Israel’s impunity for these killings.”
The five journalists killed on December 26 have been identified as:
- Correspondent Faisal Abu Al Qumsan
- Camera operator Ayman Al Gedi
- Photographer and editor Fadi Hassouna
- Editor Mohammed Al-Ladaa
- Producer and fixer Ibrahim Sheikh Ali
An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson posted on social media platform X that those killed on December 26 were militants posing as journalists.
CPJ’s email to the IDF’s North America Media desk asking whether the journalists were targeted for their work or whether there was any evidence that they were militants did not receive an immediate response.
Earlier in December, Israeli forces killed four journalists in separate strikes on December 14 and 15.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.