An Israeli attack last night killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry said early Thursday, even though their car was clearly marked.
The attack hit the press van outside Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the area.
The journalists worked for the local Quds News Network, an organization founded by Palestinians.
Associated Press footage showed the burned body of a van, with press marks still visible on the rear doors.
Several young men attended the funeral outside the hospital, many of them sobbing. The bodies were all wrapped in white shrouds with blue press vests draped over them.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the war began.
The Israeli military claimed it had instead targeted a group of fighters from Islamic Jihad, a militant group affiliated with Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel ignited the war.
It added that “numerous steps were taken before the attack to limit the risk of harm to civilians.”
Relatives of photojournalists who lost their lives after Israeli forces struck the live broadcast vehicle of Al-Quds al-Youm Television (alqudstoday-tv) in Nuseirat refugee camp mourn as they hold a funeral ceremony for them at Al Awda Hospital in Gaza City. Gaza on December 26, 2024
Mourners attend the funeral of members of the press killed in an Israeli attack
A destroyed vehicle near Al Awda Hospital after an Israeli airstrike in the Al Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, December 26, 2024
The Quds News Network identified the five staffers killed in the strike as Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan, Ayman Al-Jadi, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna and Mohammed Al-Lada’a.
They were killed “while fulfilling their journalistic and humanitarian duty,” the statement said.
“We reaffirm our commitment to continue our resistant media message,” it added.
Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military grounds, and has been accused of cracking down on news networks deemed unfriendly.
Israel has banned the pan-Arab network Al Jazeera and accused six reporters in Gaza of being militants.
The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its war reporting, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties resulting from Israeli military operations.
In addition, the army said a 35-year-old reserve soldier was killed early Thursday during fighting in central Gaza.
A total of 389 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation over a year ago.
Relatives and friends mourn the bodies of five Palestinian journalists killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, December 26, 2024
A view from part of the city after the Israeli army’s withdrawal from the West Bank town of Tulkarm following two days of attacks that resulted in the deaths of 9 Palestinians on December 26, 2024
Palestinians line up with empty pots to receive meals distributed by charity organizations as people struggle with hunger due to the embargo imposed by Israeli forces on December 26, 2024 in Khan Yunis, Gaza
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border in a surprise attack on nearby army bases and farming communities.
They killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250.
There are still around 100 hostages in Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and ground offensive, according to the Health Ministry.
It says more than half of the fatalities were women and children, but it does not say how many of the dead were fighters.
Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The offensive has caused widespread destruction and driven about 90% of the country’s 2.3 million residents from their homes.
Hundreds of thousands are crammed into squalid tent camps along the coast, with little protection from the cold, wet winter.