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An Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip at night, the Ministry of Health said early Thursday. The Israeli military said all five were militants posing as reporters.
The strike hit a car outside the Al-Awda hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the area. The journalists worked for the local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the militant group Islamic Jihad.
Islamic Jihad is a smaller and more extreme ally of Hamas, and took part in its attack on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel, fueling the conflict. The Israeli military identified four of the men as combat propagandists and said intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad operatives found by soldiers in Gaza, had confirmed that all five were affiliated with the group.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militant groups operate political, media and charity operations alongside their armed wings.
Associated Press footage showed the charred shell of a van, with press markings still visible on the back doors. Several young men attended the funeral outside the hospital, many of them sobbing. The bodies were all wrapped in white bags, with blue press vests over them.
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The Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the conflict began. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds.
Israel has banned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network and accused six of its Gaza reporters of being militants. The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its coverage of the conflict, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties from Israeli military operations.
Separately, the military said a 35-year-old reservist was killed early Sunday afternoon during fighting in central Gaza. A total of 389 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground operation began more than a year ago.
The conflict began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border in a surprise attack on nearby army bases and farming communities. They killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250. About 100 hostages are still in Gaza, of whom at least a third are believed to be dead.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health. It says that more than half of the dead have been women and children, but does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The offensive has caused widespread destruction and displaced around 90 percent of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are packed into dirty tent camps along the coast, with little protection from the cold, wet winter.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
