Zionist Forces Target Home, Resulting in Death of Palestinian Journalist in Gaza
Zionist airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, has resulted in the deaths of a Palestinian journalist, alongside her husband and son, following an attack that targeted their residence.
Islam Nasr al-Din Muqaddad has become the 254th journalist or media professional to lose their life due to actions by the Israeli forces since October 7. She is the 127th journalist reportedly killed while at her residence.
In April, a second journalist, along with their family, was tragically killed in their home during an Israeli airstrike. The incident follows the death of journalist Mohammed Al-Bardaweel and his family, who were killed in their apartment in Khan Younis last Tuesday.
A report from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs’ Costs of War Project, released on April 1, indicates that the Israeli regime’s severe actions toward Palestinian journalists have rendered the Gaza conflict the deadliest on record for media personnel.
The Costs of War has characterized the situation as the most challenging conflict ever faced by reporters.
The Costs of War has highlighted the increased dangers faced by local journalists in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict that has seen the loss of Palestinian reporters’ lives. With Israel barring entry to foreign journalists, the burden has intensified on local media personnel, who, often lacking adequate pay and resources, confront the most significant challenges to deliver news from the war-torn region.
According to the Costs of War project, global economic challenges within the industry, wartime violence, and systematic censorship efforts are increasingly rendering conflict areas into “news graveyards,” with Gaza representing the most severe case.
The Israeli authorities have consistently alleged that Palestinian journalists are clandestinely working for Hamas, an assertion that the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has firmly refuted.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has raised concerns that Israel has frequently cited this rationale, lacking substantial evidence, to rationalize the targeting or ill-treatment of Palestinian journalists.
Sherif Mansour, the Middle East and North Africa program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), stated that the Israeli military has been responsible for the deaths of more journalists in a span of ten weeks than any other military or entity in any given year.
Since October 7, 2023, as the Israeli government initiated its military operations in Gaza, reports indicate that more than 50,000 individuals, a majority being women and children, have lost their lives.
