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Reporters Without Borders (RSF) fiercely condemns the killing of four Palestinian journalists by Israeli army strikes in Gaza on Monday, 25 August. The slain news professionals are Hossam al-Masri, a freelance photographer for the Reuters news agency; Mariam Abu Daqqa, freelance journalist for The Independent and the Associated Press (AP); Moaz Abu Taha, correspondent for the American broadcasting network NBC; and Mohamad Salama, press photographer for Al Jazeera. This comes after the murder of Khaled al-Madhoun on Saturday, 23 August, totalling five journalists killed in two days. According to RSF information, all were deliberately targeted. RSF is once again calling for an emergency UN Security Council Meeting to end this massacre of journalists.
Update on August 25: A fifth journalist, Ahmed Abu Aziz, working for several local Palestinian media outlets and Tunisian radio station Diwan FM, died from his injuries after being hit by the strikes on the hospital a few hours after this article was published.
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“Four more journalists were killed this Monday morning. How far will the Israeli armed forces go in their gradual effort to eliminate information coming from Gaza? How long will they continue to defy international humanitarian law? The protection of journalists is guaranteed by international law, yet more than 200 of them have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza over the past two years. Ten years after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2222, which protects journalists in times of conflict, the Israeli army is flouting its application. RSF calls for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to ensure this resolution is finally respected, and that concrete measures are taken to end impunity for crimes against journalists, protect Palestinian journalists, and open access to the Gaza Strip to all reporters."
Thibaut Bruttin
RSF's Director General
On Monday, August 25, an Israeli strike on a building within the Al-Nasser Medical Complex in central Gaza killed Hossam al-Masri, a freelance photographer working for Reuters, at around 7 a.m. GMT. About eight minutes later, a second strike killed three other journalists who, according to RSF information, had gone to the scene to cover rescue operations: NBC correspondent Moaz Abu Taha, Al Jazeera press photographer Mohamad Salama and Mariam Abu Daqqa (also known as Mariam Dagga), a freelance journalist who worked for multiple outlets including Independent Arabia and the Associated Press, and who had escaped an Israeli army drone attack in March 2024. The strike, captured live on camera by Al Ghad TV, also injured Palestine TV journalist Jamal Badah and freelance journalist Hatem Khaled, who was also reporting for Reuters.
According to Al Jazeera, the strike that killed Hossam al-Masri was carried out using a loitering munition — also known as a suicide drone — typically equipped with a camera and an explosive charge. A Reuters article also confirmed the death of its contractor, Hussam al-Masri. The second strike targeted the hospital yet again after rescue teams and journalists had arrived. The Al-Nasser complex is a well-known gathering place for displaced journalists in Gaza who, since October 2023, have been living in tents around the hospital to access information on injured and deceased residents, as well as available facilities.
In a post on the social media platform X published on August 25, the Israeli military announced that the Israeli chief of staff ordered a preliminary investigation to be conducted as soon as possible, adding that “the Israeli Defense Forces regrets any harm caused to uninvolved civilians and does not target journalists as such.”
Two days earlier, on Saturday, August 23, Palestine TV journalist Khaled al-Madhoun was killed by the Israeli army in northern Gaza while filming food distribution. An Israeli tank is alleged to have targeted the cameraman, according to RSF information. RSF demands that an independent investigation be opened into the case
Since October 2023, more than 200 journalists have been killed by the Israeli army, including at least 56 due to their work.
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