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At least 10 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis overnight into Thursday, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. It was not immediately clear if the strikes were related to the recovery mission overnight of the bodies of two hostages.
In Gaza City, three journalists were among five Palestinians who were killed in Israeli strikes on the courtyard of the al-Ahli Hospital in the north of the enclave. A half dozen others were injured in the attack, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The Israeli military said it was looking into reports on the strike at al-Ahli and suggested that its officials may launch an investigation into the allegations. The army says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it is embedded in populated areas.
Over 180 journalists and media workers have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign, the vast majority of them in Gaza, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
Israel has said many of those killed in its strikes were militants “posing as reporters”. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned what it described as Israel’s continued systematic and deliberate targeting of journalists.
In a statement, the union said that the ongoing Israeli aggression has so far claimed the lives of 225 journalists and media workers, including 30 female journalists. They’ve also identified the late journalists as Ismail Bdaih, Suleiman Hajjaj, and Samir Al-Rifai.
The group has accused Israel of continuing a policy of “enforced disappearance” against Palestinian journalists, citing the ongoing lack of information regarding the fate of two missing reporters — Nidal Al-Wahidi and Haitham Abdul-Wahed — whose cases the union described as “clear instances of enforced disappearance in violation of international law.”
Israel has come under fire recently for its targeting of journalists and conduct of war. Various global media houses and well known broadcasters have slammed Netanyahu’s government for not allowing independent international media into Gaza to report and investigate.
Israel says the decision to not allow journalists access into the enclave was for safety reasons, adding that they cannot ensure the safety of journalists once they’ve entered.
Those claims were however dismissed, as various international media outlets have pledged to organise their own security protocol and arrangements.
Various groups, including Reporters Without Borders, have accused Israel of attempting to control the narrative and silence the facts by not allowing free press inside Gaza to conduct their own research and show the conditions on the ground.
Additional sources • AP, EBU