Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi were killed in an Israeli air attack on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. The journalists were targeted when their car was hit in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, as they were on their way to report from near the home of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated earlier in Tehran.
Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif, reporting from Gaza, conveyed the devastation at the hospital where their bodies were brought. “Ismail was conveying the suffering of the displaced Palestinians and the suffering of the wounded and the massacres committed by the [Israeli] occupation against the innocent people in Gaza,” he said.
Ismail and Rami were wearing media vests and had identifying signs on their car. They had last contacted their news desk 15 minutes before the strike, reporting a nearby strike and planning to leave for Al-Ahli Arab Hospital when they were killed.
There has been no immediate comment from Israel, which has previously denied targeting journalists in the ongoing conflict that has claimed at least 39,445 lives, predominantly children and women.
In a statement, Al Jazeera Media Network labeled the killings a “targeted assassination” by Israeli forces and pledged to “pursue all legal actions to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes.” The network cited a systematic targeting campaign against its journalists and their families since October 2023.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has documented at least 111 journalists and media workers killed since the war began on October 7, while the Gaza government media office reports 165 Palestinian journalists killed.
Al Jazeera Arabic managing editor Mohamed Moawad praised Ismail for his professionalism and dedication in bringing attention to Gaza’s suffering. Ismail’s wife, living in a camp for internally displaced people, had not seen him for months. He is also survived by a young daughter.
The deaths of Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi add to the toll on journalists in Gaza, following the deaths of other Al Jazeera journalists and family members in recent Israeli attacks. This ongoing targeting has underscored the severe risks faced by journalists documenting the conflict.
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