CAIRO (AP) — Five Palestinian journalists were killed Thursday in an Israeli airstrike near Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza’s Nuseirat area, according to Gaza health authorities, while Israel maintains the strike targeted Islamic Jihad militants.
The journalists, all working for Al-Quds Al-Youm channel, were among 21 Palestinians killed in pre-dawn Israeli strikes across Gaza. The Palestinian Journalists Union reports that more than 190 journalists have died since the conflict began in October 2023.
Footage from the scene showed a burned white van with “PRESS” visible on its rear doors. The victims were buried Thursday, their bodies wrapped in white shrouds and wearing flak jackets marked “PRESS.”
“May God take revenge on them… He reported their crimes, and this is what they did to him,” said the mother of Fadi Hassouna, one of the deceased journalists, during funeral ceremonies.
The Israeli military described the operation as a “precise strike” on a vehicle carrying Islamic Jihad operatives. Israel denies targeting journalists and says it takes precautions to avoid civilian casualties.
Additional Israeli strikes Thursday killed eight people in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood and another eight in Sabra, according to medical officials. The war’s total Palestinian death toll has reached 45,300, with much of Gaza’s 2.3 million population displaced.
Meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations have stalled, with Hamas and Israel trading accusations. Hamas claims Israel added new conditions regarding withdrawal, ceasefire terms, prisoners, and displaced persons’ return. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu counters that Hamas is backing away from previous agreements.
The conflict began with Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
