Jerusalem, July 6 (EFE).– Five Palestinian journalists were killed in Israeli attacks on central Gaza on Saturday, bringing the total number of journalists killed since the war began to 158, according to Hamas government data.
“The number of journalist martyrs has increased to 158 since the beginning of the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, after the killing of five more,” the media office of the Hamas-controlled Gaza government said.
The Gaza war has been one of the deadliest conflicts for journalists, according to human rights and media watchdogs.
Israel launched a wave of attacks in central Gaza, like Deir al-Balah and the Bureij, Maghazi, and Nuseirat refugee camps, with Nuseirat suffering the most severe attacks. At least 25 people died in the central area on Saturday.
The five journalists killed were identified as Saadi Madoukh, Adeeb Sukkar, Amjad Al-Jahjouh (who died with his wife), Wafa Abu Dabaan, and Rizq Abu Shakyan.
Madoukh was the director of Deep Shot Media production company and Sukkar an employee there. Jahjouh and Shakyan were journalists for the Palestinian Media Agency and Abu Dabaan was a radio broadcaster for the Islamic University of Gaza.
The Hamas government’s count of dead journalists includes former journalists, intellectuals, and influencers who document the war in Gaza on social media, leading the media organizations to maintain slightly lower figures.
According to the latest figures from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which have not been updated since May, at least 105 Palestinian journalists in Gaza have been killed in the conflict, 22 of them while on duty.
RSF has also denounced attacks on press freedom, including the lack of access for international media to report freely in Gaza, deliberate attacks on Palestinian journalists, and the closure of the Qatari channel Al Jazeera in Israel.
RSF has joined the complaint in the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes against Israel.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded that 108 journalists and media workers have died since October 7: 103 Palestinians (all in Gaza due to Israeli bombings), two Israelis killed in the Hamas attack on that day, and three Lebanese in an Israeli attack on the border.
Additionally, about 50 journalists have been arrested by Israeli authorities, and many Palestinian reporters – including those in Israel and the West Bank – are victims of harassment, threats, and online abuse. EFE
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