Hamas Condemns Israel’s ‘Cowardly’ Action in Killing of Prominent Journalist
Hamas has issued a strong condemnation of the Israeli government's targeted killing of a prominent and widely respected Palestinian journalist, labeling it a "cowardly assassination" and an act of "sadism." The group criticized Tel Aviv for what it described as a systematic effort to silence voices of truth.
Hassan Eslayeh, a distinguished freelance photojournalist, was undergoing medical care at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, located in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. This followed his survival of an Israeli airstrike on April 7, which had targeted a media tent accommodating journalists.
He had been chronicling the regime’s war of genocide on Gaza, which began in October 2023, as well as the significant operation by Hamas and its allied Gaza-based resistance movements that targeted the occupied Palestinian territories leading up to the conflict.
The victim had garnered a significant social media following due to his uncompromising dedication to reporting facts from the field.
The Israeli military has acknowledged responsibility for the airstrike that resulted in his assassination, asserting that the intended target was a Hamas “command-and-control center” located within the hospital complex. The administration has consistently offered similar explanations in the aftermath of its repeated mass-casualty incidents involving civilians.
Hamas and independent observers have refuted the allegations, maintaining that Eslayeh was a civilian journalist unaffiliated with any resistance organization.
The resistance movement has strongly condemned the attack, labeling it as a “blatant violation of all international and humanitarian laws.” They asserted that the Israeli regime has encountered moral and media collapse.
The group urged the international community, with specific appeals to the United Nations and press organizations, to urgently intervene and halt the regime’s alleged war crimes targeting Palestinian journalists. They also called for the imposition of sanctions on Israeli officials.
Since the conflict began, more than 215 Palestinian journalists have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces, with the majority of these casualties occurring in the Gaza region.
