Hossam Shabat, a reporter for Qatar-based Al Jazeera Mubasher, and Mohammed Mansour, a correspondent for Palestine Today TV, were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Monday, March 24.
Shabat was killed in the afternoon when Israeli forces targeted his car in Jabalia, northern Gaza, while he was covering protests in the area.
Less than an hour earlier, he had mourned the loss of Mansour, who was killed alongside his wife and son when an airstrike hit their apartment in Khan Younis, according to Palestine Today TV. The network shared footage from the site, capturing the devastation and grief of his family and colleagues.
Shabat’s final post on X, shared on Sunday evening, read: “In Gaza, the wounded are killed.” He was commenting on Israel’s attack on the Nasser Medical Complex.
With their deaths, the number of journalists killed by Israel in Gaza has risen to 208 since 7 October 2023, according to the Gaza Media Office.
The Government Media Office in Gaza has strongly condemned Israel’s killing of Palestinian journalists, denouncing it as a deliberate and systematic attack on the press.
In a statement, the office accused the Israeli occupation, the US administration, and allied nations of bearing full responsibility for what it described as a “heinous, brutal crime” and part of an ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
The statement urged the international community, media organisations, and human rights bodies to take decisive action by condemning Israel’s crimes, holding it accountable in international courts, and ensuring justice for the victims. It also called for urgent and effective measures to halt the killing of journalists and protect media professionals in Gaza.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate also condemned the deliberate targeting of journalists Mohammed Mansour and Hossam Shabat, calling it a war crime designed to suppress the truth.
“Their direct targeting is a horrific war crime meant to instil fear and silence those who carry the message of free speech,” the syndicate said in a statement.
It added that these attacks are not isolated incidents but part of a systematic policy aimed at eliminating Palestinian journalists, who have become direct targets of Israeli military operations simply for reporting the truth.
“This is the largest massacre of journalists in modern history—unfolding amid a disturbing international silence,” the statement concluded.
On March 18, Israel launched a surprise aerial campaign killing at least 730 people and injuring nearly 1,200, despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in place since January.
Since October 2023, more than 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and over 113,200 injured in Israel’s military offensive.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its actions in Gaza.
