Israel says Al Jazeera journalist it killed in Gaza was Hamas 'sniper'
Israel on Tuesday said it had killed an Al Jazeera employee in the Gaza Strip, accusing the journalist, Hussam Shabat, of being a "sniper terrorist" for Hamas.
The Qatar-based network said Shabat was killed Monday in an Israeli strike on his vehicle in northern Gaza, in an attack that media watchdog Reporters without Borders (RSF) condemned as part of a "massacre of journalists" in the Palestinian territory.
A joint statement from the Israeli military and Shin Bet internal security agency said that forces had "eliminated... a sniper terrorist from the Beit Hanun Battalion of the Hamas terrorist organisation, who was also employed as a journalist by Al Jazeera".
Gaza's civil defence agency said Shabat was killed when an Israeli drone strike targeted his car on Monday afternoon, near a petrol station in the northern town of Beit Lahia.
Referring to Shabat, the Israeli statement that said security forces had "in October 2024... exposed the terrorist's direct affiliation with the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organisation".
Jonathan Dagher, head of the RSF's Middle East desk, said in a statement that the accusations from last year "can in no way justify his murder, as they are based on documents that in no way constitute that the journalist had any affiliation" with Hamas's armed wing.
According to the Israeli statement, "internal Hamas documents" had proved Shabat had taken part in military training conducted by the militant group's Beit Hanun Battalion in 2019.
An Al Jazeera alert on Monday said: "Hussam Shabat, a journalist collaborating with Al Jazeera Mubasher, was martyred in an Israeli strike targeting his car in the northern Gaza Strip", referring to the network's live Arabic channel.
RSF on Tuesday condemned what it called the "targeted Israeli strike" that killed Shabat, "one of Gaza's best-known journalists".
The media watchdog said it had previously "warned that the Al Jazeera reporter and his colleagues were at high risk of assassination".
"This all-too-familiar pattern fuels the unprecedented massacre of journalists happening in Gaza," said Dagher.
RSF said the Israeli army was "already responsible for the deaths of nearly 200 journalists in 15 months, including at least 43 killed while working".
Israel restarted intense air strikes across the densely populated Gaza Strip last week followed by ground operations, shattering the relative calm afforded by a January ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Tuesday that 792 people had been killed since Israel resumed bombardments on March 18, including 62 in the past 24 hours.
Israel has repeatedly accused Al Jazeera reporters in Gaza of being "terrorist operatives" affiliated with militant groups, and has suspended the network's broadcasts.
Al Jazeera denies the accusations and says Israel systematically targets its staff in Gaza.
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Los Angeles Times
14 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Palestinians say Israel and its allies fired on crowd near Gaza aid site. Hospital says 6 killed
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Experts have meanwhile warned that Israel's blockade and its ongoing military campaign have put Gaza at risk of famine. Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds heading to the food centers since they opened last month. In previous instances, the Israeli military has said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces near the centers, which are in military zones off limits to independent media. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israeli- and U.S.-supported private contractor running the sites, says there has been no violence in or around the centers themselves. But GHF repeatedly warns would-be food recipients that stepping off the road designated by the military for people to reach the centers represents 'a great danger.' It paused delivery at its three distribution sites last week to hold discussions with the military about improving safety on the routes. GHF closed the Rafah site on Monday due to the 'chaos of the crowds,' according to a Facebook site associated with the group. A GHF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Heba Joda, who was in the crowd Monday, said gunfire broke out at a roundabout where previous shootings have occurred, around a kilometer (half a mile) from the aid site. She said the shots came from the 'dangerous zone' where Israeli troops and their allies are stationed. She said she saw men from a local militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab trying to organize the crowds into lines on the road. When people pushed forward, the gunmen opened fire. People then hurled stones at them, forcing them to withdraw toward the Israeli positions, she said. The Abu Shabab group, which calls itself the Popular Forces, says it is guarding the surroundings of the GHF centers in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting U.N. aid trucks. GHF has said it does not work with the Abu Shabab group. Hussein Shamimi, who was also in the crowd, said his 14-year-old cousin was among those killed. 'There was an ambush … the Israelis from one side and Abu Shabab from another,' he said. Mohamed Kabaga, a Palestinian displaced from northern Gaza, said he saw masked men firing toward the crowds after trying to organize them. 'They fired at us directly,' he said while being treated at Nasser Hospital, in the nearby city of Khan Yunis. He had been shot in the neck, as were three other people seen by an Associated Press journalist at the hospital. Kabaga said he saw around 50 masked men with 4x4 vehicles in the area around the roundabout, close to Israeli military lines. 'We didn't receive anything,' he said. 'They shot us.' Nasser Hospital said several men had been shot in the upper body, including some in the head. 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Throughout the war, the U.N.-led network has delivered supplies at hundreds of distribution points around Gaza, meaning large crowds haven't had to trek for hours past Israeli troops to receive aid. Israel sealed off Gaza from all food, medicine and fuel at the beginning of March, shortly before it ended a ceasefire with Hamas. It began allowing small amounts of aid in last month, but U.N. agencies say they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order and widespread looting. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,900 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced some 90% of the population and left the territory almost completely reliant on international aid. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will continue the war until all the captives are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that even then, Israel will maintain open-ended control over Gaza and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries, a plan rejected by most of the international community, including the Palestinians, who view it as a blueprint for their forcible expulsion. Shurafa and Magdy write for the Associated Press. Magdy reported from Cairo.
Time Magazine
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Israel Boards Aid Flotilla Carrying Greta Thunberg— What's Next For the Ship and its Crew
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Fox News
22 minutes ago
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Trump huddles with military brass at Camp David amid violent immigration protests in Los Angeles
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