'Israel' assassinated two journalists in Gaza amid intense bombardment
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The Israeli occupation forces committed a horrendous massacre in the Gaza Strip's Shati camp accompanied by recording yet another war crime: the intentional targeting of journalists.
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The vehicle that journalists Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi were aboard in the al-Shati Camp, the Gaza Strip, occupied Palestine, July 31, 2024 (Palestinian media)
The Government Media Office in Gaza has reported that the number of journalists killed since the onset of the ongoing war in the blockaded strip has risen to 165 on the 299th day of the war.
The recent increase in journalist casualties occurred after an Israeli attack targeted a group of journalists in the al-Shati refugee camp.
The journalists were covering the funeral of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau, who was assassinated in Tehran early Wednesday. Among the martyrs are Al Jazeera's correspondents Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi.
Subsequent condemnations
In a statement, the Government Media Office condemned the targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists, urging the international community and relevant organizations to hold the Israeli occupation accountable in international courts for its continuous crimes.
The statement also called for pressure on the occupation to stop the ongoing genocide and the targeted killing of journalists.
At a press conference held at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, the Journalists' Union asserted that their coverage would continue despite the dangers. "Everyone you see before you are the voice of Ismail al-Ghoul, and every camera lens is the lens of Rami al-Rifi," they declared.
The union denounced the killing of their colleagues during the coverage of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, highlighting that journalists were being targeted while wearing their press vests.
Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas condemned the assassination of journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his colleague Rami al-Rifi as a heinous crime added to the Israeli occupation's list of offenses against Palestinian journalists, aiming to intimidate and silence them.
Hamas issued a statement stressing that the crime near the home of martyred leader Ismail Haniyeh underscores the Israeli occupation's criminal approach and its fear of Haniyeh, both alive and as a martyr.
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine also condemned the massacre of journalists as a crime against humanity and a blatant challenge to all humanitarian values and norms.
Mohammed al-Hajj Musa, the movement's media spokesperson, stated that the widespread Israeli attacks reflect the desperation of the Israeli occupation, attempting to regain deterrence after being exposed by the resilience of the Palestinian people and their supporters.
Al-Hajj Musa called on "the free people of the world to exert all possible pressure to punish the war criminals in Netanyahu's government and the senior officers of his army."
The Palestinian Resistance Committees have denounced the recent Israeli attack on journalists, labeling it a continuation of escalating Israeli crimes. They assert that these actions would not have been possible without the support and involvement of the United States.
In a statement, the committees urged Palestinians across the West Bank, occupied al-Quds, and the territories occupied in 1948, as well as the peoples of the entire Islamic World, to 'rise up, protest, and take to the streets in opposition to the massacres, slaughters, and assassinations being carried out by Israel."
The al-Mujahideen Movement also condemned the Israeli crime targeting journalists, emphasizing that the international community's inaction, silence, and complicity with the Zionist entity have emboldened it to continue targeting journalists and committing acts of genocide.
In their statement, the al-Mujahideen Movement called on all media and human rights organizations to "fulfill their roles in exposing the crimes of this enemy and pursuing it everywhere."
Repeated aggression
The Israeli occupation continues its aggression on the Gaza Strip for the 299th consecutive day, targeting various areas across the region. According to an Al Mayadeen correspondent, several assaults have been carried out by Israeli forces.
Our correspondent reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted the western areas of al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City.
There have been injuries resulting from an Israeli strike on a house in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood near Badr Mosque, in the southern part of Gaza City. Additionally, Israeli aircraft bombed the vicinity of Hassan Al-Banna Mosque.
The correspondent noted that Israeli artillery shelling struck the eastern parts of the al-Maghazi camp in central Gaza. Both aerial and artillery bombardments also targeted northern and western Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Several martyrs and injured individuals were reported following an Israeli drone strike on a group of people in the Tell al-Sultan neighborhood, west of Rafah.
In Khan Younis, southern Gaza, civil defense teams recovered the body of a female martyr from the rubble of a house destroyed by an Israeli attack in the Sheikh Nasser area.
