Israel kills Al Jazeera and Palestine Today journalists in separate attacks in Gaza
Israel killed two Palestinian journalists in separate attacks in Gaza on Monday, bringing the total number of press workers killed in the Palestinian territory since October 2023 to 208.
Palestine Today correspondent Mohammad Mansour was killed in an air strike north of Khan Younis while Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent Hossam Shabat was hit in his car in Salah al-Din Street in the north of the enclave.
The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip said it condemned "in the strongest terms the targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation".
It urged media watchdogs to condemn “these systematic crimes against Palestinian journalists and media professionals in Gaza”.
The statement added that the Gaza government held Israel, the United States, as well as “the countries participating in the genocide, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, fully responsible for committing this heinous crime”.
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مراسل قناة فلسطين اليوم الصحفي محمد منصور الذي قتله الاحتلال باستهداف منزل جنوب مدينة خانيونس. pic.twitter.com/nQgueBhrrd
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 24, 2025
Translation: Palestine Today TV correspondent, journalist Mohammad Mansour, was killed by the occupation forces when they targeted a house south of Khan Yunis.
We’re sharing below clips of journalist Hossam Shabat, whom Israel assassinated in northern Gaza earlier today.
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 24, 2025
He was a role model to Gaza’s children, especially those aspiring to become reporters.
pic.twitter.com/OUBTYgPmiV
The Committee to Protect Journalists said earlier this month that, given the high number of killed Palestinian journalists, the period from October 2023 has been the deadliest period for journalists since the NGO began gathering data over three decades ago.
On Monday, CPJ denounced the killing of the two journalists and called for an investigation into the attacks.
“The deliberate and targeted killing of a journalist, of a civilian, is a war crime,” said Jodie Ginsberg, the CPJ’s chief executive.
“Journalists and civilians must never be targeted”, she said.
The Israeli military o Monday admitted to killing Shabat, falsly accusing him of being "a terrorist" who it had now "eliminated".
In October 2024, Shabat accused the Israeli army of falsifying claims against him and five other Northern Gaza journalists, accusing them of being terrorists.
"This blatant and belligerent attempt to transform us, the last witnesses in the north, into killable targets is an assassination threat and obvious attempt to preemptively justify our murder," he wrote.
"This public threat was made without any evidence and is part of a systematic propaganda campaign to justify the unjustifiable as Israel continues to target civilians in Gaza, including doctors, aid workers, children and us journalists."
Following his murder, Shabat's colleagues published a final statement he wrote before his death.
“I ask you now: do not stop speaking about Gaza,” Shabat wrote. “Do not let the world look away. Keep fighting, keep telling our stories — until Palestine is free.”
This is Hossam’s team, and we are sharing his final message :
— حسام شبات (@HossamShabat) March 24, 2025
“If you’re reading this, it means I have been killed—most likely targeted—by the Israeli occupation forces. When this all began, I was only 21 years old—a college student with dreams like anyone else. For past 18… pic.twitter.com/80aNO6wtfO
The deaths come as Israeli forces continue to press their renewed ground assault in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces have encircled the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood in Rafah, southern Gaza, leaving 50,000 Palestinians trapped with little access to food and water, and the wounded "left to bleed to death".
Soldiers began encircling the area on Sunday morning, issuing a notice demanding that Palestinians leave the area.
The Rafah municipality said in a statement that Tel al-Sultan was "being subjected to genocide" with thousands of civilians, including children, women, and the elderly, trapped under intense Israeli bombardment "with no means of escape".
It said that communications had been completely cut in the area, with the fate of residents unknown.
On Sunday morning, Red Crescent ambulances were on their way to treat wounded patients in Tel al-Sultan when Israeli forces surrounded their vehicles.
Israeli forces released one of the crew members after "severely beating him", the Red Crescent said in a statement.
More than a day later, the fate of the other emergency workers is still not known.
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