Five journalists lost their lives in an overnight Israeli airstrike targeting their vehicle in Gaza, as confirmed by Al-Awda Hospital and their employer, Al-Quds Today Television.
The vehicle, marked with “TV” and “PRESS,” was parked outside the hospital when it was struck.
The journalists—Ayman Al-Jadi, Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan, Mohammed Al-Lada’a, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali, and Fadi Hassouna—were reportedly asleep in the vehicle at the time of the attack. Footage captured after the strike showed the vehicle engulfed in flames.
Al-Quds Today Television, affiliated with the Palestine Islamic Jihad militant group, condemned the attack, stating the journalists were killed “while performing their journalistic and humanitarian duty.”
The Israeli military claimed responsibility for the strike, alleging it targeted an “Islamic Jihad terrorist cell” in Nuseirat but provided no evidence to support the assertion.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that at least 141 journalists and media workers have been killed in the region since October 7 of the previous year, marking it as the deadliest period for journalists since 1992. Among the fatalities, 133 were Palestinians in Gaza, who face heightened risks covering the conflict.
Earlier this month, an Israeli airstrike killed Al Jazeera photojournalist Ahmad Al-Louh and four others during a rescue mission in Gaza’s Nuseirat Camp. Al Jazeera condemned the killing, calling it a brutal attack on a journalist performing his duties.
The Israeli military alleged the targeted site was a Hamas command center and accused Al-Louh of having ties to Islamic Jihad but provided no evidence to substantiate these claims.
