Three more journalists killed in Gaza

The head of a prominent media
institution in Gaza and two other journalists were killed during
the weekend in Israel’s offensive in the territory, their
relatives said on Sunday, adding to the dozens of reporters who
have died in the six-week conflict.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
said the weekend deaths raised to 48 the number of journalists
and media workers it had confirmed killed in the region since
the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli
offensive.
The CPJ, whose list covers journalists killed on both sides
of the conflict although most have been in Gaza, said it seeks
at least two sources to verify each death. It said its list of
those killed comprised 43 Palestinians, four Israelis and one
Lebanese.
“Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices
to cover this heart-breaking conflict. Those in Gaza, in
particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented
toll and face exponential threats,” Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle
East and North Africa program coordinator, said in an email to
Reuters.
On Sunday, Belal Jadallah, a journalist and head of the
board of the Press House-Palestine, a non-governmental
organisation, was killed and his pharmacist brother-in-law was
seriously wounded, his sister and other relatives told Reuters.
Jadallah told his sister earlier on Sunday he was heading
out of Gaza City towards the south. He was killed in the Zeitoun
area of Gaza City, said his sister, who added that people who
found him and took him to a medical centre where he was declared
dead said he had been killed by an Israeli tank shell.
Reuters could not independently verify this report or the
report of the other two journalists killed this weekend.
Four of Jadallah’s relatives work for Reuters in Gaza or
abroad. One of the journalists on CPJ’s list of those killed is
Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah who was killed in Lebanon near
the border with Israel on Oct. 13.
In addition to Jadallah, two freelance journalists –
Hassouna Sleem and Sary Mansour – were killed on Saturday in an
Israeli assault on Bureij refugee camp, in the centre of the
Gaza Strip, their relatives and Palestinian health officials
said. The health officials said 17 people died in the incident.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a
request for comment about the deaths of Jadallah or the others.
In the past, the Israeli military has said it was pursuing
its offensive to dismantle Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack and it
would look into individual cases at a later date. It has also
said it makes every feasible effort to mitigate civilian harm.
The Press House-Palestine says on its website that its
overall objective is to contribute to developing an “independent
Palestinian media, that reflects the values of democracy and
freedom of expression and its principles.”