Palestinian Journalist Islam Abed Killed In Gaza Airstrike

One more Palestinian journalist was killed on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City, raising the number of media workers killed in the conflict to 247, according to the Gaza Media Office.

The journalist, Islam Abed, was a correspondent for Al-Quds Today TV. According to Anadolu Agency, the Gaza Media Office condemned the strike, describing it as part of the “systematic” targeting of Palestinian journalists and called on the international community to take action to protect media workers.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has also condemned the killing. AA reported that the syndicate described Israel’s targeting of journalists as “a stain of shame that will haunt the killers of truth and a full-fledged war crime added to the occupation’s long record of violations against journalists.” The organisation held Israel “fully responsible for the killing of colleague Islam Abed and all other media professionals martyred while performing their professional duty” and urged global human rights and media organisations to take “urgent and effective action to hold Israeli leaders accountable for their ongoing crimes against Palestinian journalism.”

The Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 63,500 Palestinians since October 2023 and caused widespread devastation in the enclave, which is facing famine, AA reported.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its military operations in the territory.

(With inputs from Anadolu Agency)