Five Palestinian journalists were killed in an Israeli vehicle airstrike in central Gaza, their employer said, while Israel also carried out air strikes in areas in Yemen controlled by the Houthi rebels.
Faisal Abu al-Kumsan, Ayman al-Jadi, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna, and Mohammed al-Radaa were asleep in a broadcast truck marked as a news agency. It was the target of a direct attack by the Israeli military. Witnesses told Palestinian media. A further 32 people were killed in pre-dawn Israeli attacks across the territory, the local health ministry said.
The five people, who worked for Al-Quds Today, a television station affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a small armed group that fights alongside Hamas, were buried on Thursday morning.
In a statement, the Israeli military said: “An Islamic Jihad terrorist group carried out a precision attack on a mounted vehicle in the Nuseyrat area…Prior to the attack, a number of measures were taken to reduce the risk of harm to civilians. ” he said.
It has also claimed responsibility for at least five airstrikes that hit military targets in Yemen, most of which are controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah. Targets attacked on Thursday afternoon included ports, power plants and Sana’a International Airport.
Al-Masira TV, run by the Houthis, reported that three people were killed, two in the airport attack and one in the port attack, and 11 others were injured.
The World Health Organization director-general, who was at Yemen’s Sanaa airport Thursday amid Israeli shelling, said there was damage to infrastructure but it was safe.
“One of the crew members of our plane was injured. At least two people were reported killed at the airport,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X, adding that other UN staff were also safe. However, it added that the departure had been postponed until repairs were completed.
The Gaza war began in October 2023, and soon after Hamas began its attack on Israel, the Houthis began their attack on Israel. Last week, a Houthi missile attack injured 16 people in the Tel Aviv area, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn of retaliation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview on Channel 14 on Thursday evening that Israel’s operations against the Houthis have only just begun. “We are just starting to engage with them,” he said.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said 195 journalists have been killed in the Israeli-Hamas war, including those killed in the latest attack, and at least 400 others have been injured in the past 14 months.
The Israel Defense Forces deny targeting media personnel. But as the IDF’s interpretation of the laws of war in the conflict loosens, some in the military are targeting media outlets controlled by or affiliated with Palestinian extremist groups, according to an investigation by the Guardian. appears to view journalists working in its territory as legitimate military targets.
Foreign media are prevented from free access to Gaza by Israel, so the task of documenting the war there falls solely to Palestinian journalists, many of whom continue to work despite the security threats. continues.
Under the Geneva Conventions, journalists can lose their civilian status if they engage in the planning or execution of combat operations. Working for an organization like Al-Quds Today does not make someone a target.
The Middle East branch of the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday that the organization was “shocked by reports that five journalists and media workers were killed in a broadcast vehicle in an Israeli attack.”
“Journalists are civilians and must be protected at all times,” he said on social media.
Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 hostages. About 100 hostages remain in Gaza, and about a third of them are thought to have died.
More than 45,000 people have died in Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the local health ministry, which the United Nations relies on for its death data.
The war has sparked a humanitarian crisis amid allegations that Israel is blocking aid and medical supplies from entering the country and depopulating the northern third of the region. He denies the charges.
Israel’s Can Radio reported Thursday that Hamas and Israel are exchanging blame for breaking agreements already reached, with negotiations for a renewed ceasefire and hostage deal stalled. Hamas is said to have withdrawn its promise to submit a list of hostages to be released in the first phase of the deal, and Arabic media accuses Hamas of introducing new conditions related to Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip. It was reported that.
Israel’s negotiating team returned from a week of talks hosted by mediator Qatar earlier this week, and both sides say talks are continuing.
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem on Thursday, Israel’s militant National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the disputed holy site of the Temple Mount, known to Palestinians as al-Aqsa.
His office said the visit marked the beginning of the Hanukkah holiday. “The minister prayed for the safety of the soldiers, the return of hostages, living and dead, and complete victory of the war.”
Ben Gvir has made several visits to the controversial holy site since taking office in late 2022, and has sought to stoke unrest by unilaterally announcing that Jews are free to worship there. is accused of doing so. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reiterated Thursday that “the current situation on the Temple Mount has not changed.”
