Israel presses Gaza attack with new evacuation calls
GAZA: An Israeli air strike killed a journalist working with Al Jazeera and the military issued fresh calls to evacuate parts of Gaza's north, as Israel pressed its renewed bombardment and ground operations in the Palestinian territory. Israel resumed intense air strikes across Gaza last Tuesday, followed by ground operations, after talks on extending a ceasefire with the Palestinian group Hamas reached an impasse. On Monday evening, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued "an early warning before a strike" in the northern area of Jabalia. "...organisations are once again returning to and firing rockets from populated areas... For your safety, head south toward the known shelters immediately," Adraee said on X, after issuing similar warnings for the northern towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun.
Earlier, Gaza's civil defence agency said an Israeli drone strike on Monday afternoon killed Hussam Shabat, who was working with Al Jazeera, near a petrol station in Beit Lahia. Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the agency, said air strikes had targeted more than 10 cars, including Shabat's, in various parts of Gaza. "Hussam Shabat, a journalist collaborating with Al Jazeera Mubasher, was martyred in an Israeli strike targeting his car in the northern Gaza Strip," an alert from the broadcaster said, referring to its live Arabic channel. Footage from the scene in Beit Lahia showed Palestinians gathering around the car, which had an Al Jazeera sticker on its windscreen. A body could be seen on the ground nearby.
According to the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Israel's military in October accused Shabat and five other Palestinian journalists of being militants, which he denied. Hundreds of people attended Shabat's funeral held at Beit Lahia's Indonesian Hospital, praying over his body, which still wore a press flak jacket. The civil defence agency said a media worker from Islamic Jihad-affiliated Palestine Today TV, Muhammad Mansour, was killed in a separate air strike in Gaza's south.
In a statement, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate called the deaths of Shabat and Mansour "a crime added to the record of Israeli terrorism". It said that more than 206 journalists and media workers had been killed since the start of the war, which was triggered by attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 50,082 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the territory's health ministry. The health ministry said on Monday that 730 people had been killed since Israel resumed bombardments on March 18, including 57 in the past 24 hours. Militants also seized 251 hostages on October 7, 58 of whom are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas's armed wing released a video on Monday showing two Israeli hostages — identified as Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim Ohana — describing the danger they have faced since the resumption of intense Israeli strikes. Bohbot's family reacted to the video with a statement appealing to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump to secure the remaining hostages' release. "Imagine this is your son, the father of your grandchild, waiting to see daylight, hearing (Israeli army) bombs, and living in constant fear for his life," the statement said.
Israel's military said it intercepted a total of three "projectiles" launched from the Gaza Strip on Monday evening. The armed wing of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad said it had launched rockets towards Israel. The military also said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, the sixth since the resumption of Gaza hostilities. — Reuters
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