The Deadly Risks of Reporting in Gaza

Over 190 media workers, mostly Palestinians, killed since war began

- Aaron Boxerman

JERUSALEM — The Israeli strikes that killed five journalists in a Gaza Strip hospital on Aug. 25 were the latest episode in what has been a deadly conflict for Palestinian journalists, who have often served as the world's on-the-ground witnesses to Israel's campaign.

"It's reached the point where I'm scared to report," said Mr. Gevara al-Safadi, a photographer who works with Al-Kofiya, a Palestinian broadcaster.

Such fears and the deadly risks of reporting in Gaza could further stifle the amount of information coming out of the war.

Israel has barred international journalists from freely entering Gaza to cover the war and has killed some Palestinian reporters it claimed were members of Hamas or other militant groups.

More than 190 media workers, the majority of them Palestinian, have been killed since the war began in October 2023, according to the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

The episode on Aug. 25 began after Israel first struck Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, hitting one of the journalists, said Mr. Abdullah al-Attar, a freelance journalist who was present.

As other reporters and emergency medical workers rushed to the scene, Israeli forces struck again, killing a total of 20 people and wounding several others, health officials said. Mr. al-Attar's account was corroborated by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Five of those killed were journalists who had worked as contractors for the Associated Press, Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Middle East Eye. The Israeli military named six other people it said were militants killed in the attack.

The strikes were intended to hit a camera that Israeli troops believed was tracking them, the military said.