Muhammed Abu Hweidy, a Palestinian journalist, was killed in an Israeli attack on his home in the east of Gaza City. According to the latest figures released by the government media office in Gaza, at least 100 journalists have been killed since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7.
The media office reported that, “The number of journalists killed has risen to 100, men and women, since the start of the brutal war on the Gaza Strip, after the martyrdom of journalist Mohammed Abu Hweidy in an Israeli airstrike in the Shujaiya neighborhood.”
Moreover, more than 50 media premises or offices in Gaza have been completely or partially destroyed by Israeli attacks, leading to hundreds of Palestinian journalists and their families being forcibly displaced to the south. Despite these challenges, journalists in Gaza continue to report under difficult conditions.
According to international humanitarian laws, journalists working in areas of armed conflict are protected, and Israel has been accused of repeatedly violating these laws. Palestinian journalists have stated that Israel is deliberately targeting them to silence their stories.
The high death toll among journalists is unprecedented, with approximately 1,000 journalists in Gaza at the beginning of the conflict. The death toll of journalists is between seven-and-a-half and 10 percent, which is an extraordinarily high number. Despite the dangers, the journalists in Gaza continue to bravely carry out their work with only cameras, microphones, and notebooks at their disposal.