Gaza City, MINA – Three Palestinian journalists were killed and several others wounded on Thursday morning in what Palestinian authorities described as a targeted Israeli drone strike on the courtyard of Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, Palestine Information Center reported.
Medical sources at Al-Maqassed Hospital reported that the Israeli drone attack directly struck the hospital’s outdoor area, killing journalists Suleiman Hajjaj of Palestine Today TV, photographer Ismail Badah, and Samir Al-Rifai of Shams News Agency. Photographer Ahmed Qalja was among the injured.
Fadel Naim, director of Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, confirmed in a press statement that this was the eighth Israeli attack on the facility since the start of what he called the genocidal war on Gaza. He warned that the hospital is under immense strain due to the destruction and closure of many other medical facilities across the Gaza Strip.
The deaths of Hajjaj, Badah, and Al-Rifai bring the total number of journalists killed since October 2023 to 224, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Protection Center (PJPC).
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The organization has declared Gaza “the most dangerous place in the world for journalists,” citing that the Israeli occupation forces have killed more than 221 journalists since the conflict began—averaging one journalist every three days.
The PJPC and several international media watchdogs have condemned the continued targeting of media professionals, describing it as a systematic campaign to silence reporting on Israel’s actions in Gaza. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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