Five scribes among 26 killed in Israeli strike

CAIRO/GAZA: Gaza authorities said an Israeli airstrike killed five Palestinian journalists in a vehicle outside a hospital on Thursday but the Israeli army said the victims were Islamic Jihad militants posing as media workers.

Medics said the five were among at least 26 people killed in Israeli air assaults across the Palestinian enclave before dawn as Hamas and Israel traded blame over delays in reaching a ceasefire deal after more than 14 months of fighting.

The Palestinian Journalists Union said one strike killed five journalists from the Al-Quds Today channel who were in a broadcast vehicle in front of Al-Awda Hospital in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.


The union said more than 190 Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israeli fire since the war began in October 2023.

The Gaza-based channel called the strike a massacre and said in a statement on Telegram the five "were killed as they carried out their media and humanitarian duty".

The Israeli military said it "conducted a precise strike on a vehicle with an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell inside in the area of Nuseirat". Israel has regularly denied targeting journalists and says its take steps to avoid hitting civilians.

The Islamic Jihad group fought several rounds against Israel in the past two decades, and fighters of the group have joined the fighting against Israel since October 2023. It said it has hostages in its custody too.

FUNERALS
Video from the scene of Thursday's attack showed the twisted wreckage of a white van with what appeared to be the remnants of the word "PRESS" in red on the back doors.

Later on Thursday, dozens of relatives and fellow journalists took part in the funerals of the five journalists, whose bodies were wrapped in white shrouds. Blue flak jackets bearing the word "PRESS" were placed on top of the shrouded bodies.

"The Israeli army justifies or excuses this targeting by claiming it is aimed at individuals involved in Palestinian organizations and cells. However, on the ground, these individuals were on journalistic assignments, residing in press vehicles and covering events," said Abed Meqdad, a correspondent for Al-Araby TV channel during the funerals.