Latest news with #Eslaih
Daily Mirror
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Strike on Gaza hospital kills 28 as Israel claims it hit 'Hamas command centre'
Gaza's Civil Defence teams scrambled through the rubble at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, pulling casualties, including children, from the wreckage - in a blast that killed at least 28 Nine Israeli missiles have torn through a hospital in southern Gaza, killing at least 28 people and injuring dozens more, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. It was the second strike to hit a medical facility in the city on Tuesday. Gaza's Civil Defence teams scrambled through the rubble at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, pulling casualties, including children, from the wreckage. Many bodies are still yet to be recovered because they've been "scattered around the hospital area" from the force of the blasts, the agency said. Israel claimed it had targeted a "Hamas command centre" hidden beneath the hospital, but provided no evidence. Earlier in the day, Israel's Defence Forces (IDF) admitted to "a targeted attack" on the Nasser Medical Complex, also in Khan Younis, killing two people - including renowned Palestinian journalist Hassan Eslaih. Eslaih was being treated in a burn unit after being severely wounded in a April 7 Israeli strike on a media tent beside the hospital. Dozens of patients were being treated on the hospital's third floor when the missiles struck, according to emergency responder Ahmed Siyyam, speaking to Reuters. Israel later declared it had "eliminated significant Hamas terrorists" in the strike on Nasser Hospital - specifically naming Eslaih, alleging he had "operated under the guise of a journalist". The aftermath of the strike revealed catastrophic damage inside the hospital, including shattered beds and destroyed medical equipment. The International Federation of Journalists says more than 160 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the war head of the independent news agency Alam24 and a former contributor to international outlets, had been recovering from wounds he suffered during last month's lethal attack on the press tent at Nasser Hospital. Palestinian officials have long accused Israel of deliberately targeting journalists. Israel denies this, insisting it seeks to avoid civilian harm. US President Donald Trump has meanwhile phoned American hostage Edan Alexander - released by Hamas on Monday - as ceasefire negotiations continue. The 21-year-old was believed to be the last living American hostage in Gaza. The October 7 attack on southern Israel killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. Since then, Israel has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, and obliterated much of the territory. An aid blockade, imposed by Israel since March, has meanwhile left Gaza on the verge of famine. On Tuesday, the World Health Organisation warned that hunger and malnutrition could have a lasting impact on "an entire generation".
Qatar Tribune
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Journalist killed in Israeli attack on Gaza hospital
Agencies Gaza Israel's army has admitted to carrying out 'a targeted attack' on the Nasser Medical Complex in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing two people, including Palestinian journalist Hassan Eslaih. Gaza's Government Media Office on Tuesday confirmed the killing of Eslaih, who was receiving treatment at the hospital's burn unit for severe injuries sustained during an April 7 Israeli strike on a media tent located next to the hospital. The AFP news agency footage from Nasser Hospital after Tuesday's strike showed smoke rising from the facility as rescuers searched through the rubble by the light of torches. A hospital worker who gave his name as Abu Ghali said the Israeli bombardment 'does not differentiate between civilians and military targets'. 'This is a civilian hospital that receives injured people around the clock,' he told AFP. Eslaih was the director of the Alam24 News Agency and a freelancer who contributed to international news organisations, including photos of the Hamas-led October 7 attack. Israel has claimed Eslaih was a Hamas fighter who participated in the October 7 attack, an allegation he vehemently denied. At least 178 journalists and media workers have been killed in Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon since the war began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Gaza's Government Media Office put the death toll at 215. Israel's military said in a post on Telegram that the strike targeted a Hamas 'command and control complex' at the hospital – the largest in southern Gaza – without providing further evidence. 'The compound was used by the terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and [military] troops,' the post said, in what appeared to be a reference to Eslaih and Hamas. Gaza's Health Ministry on Tuesday condemned 'the repeated targeting of hospitals and the pursuit and killing of wounded patients inside treatment rooms', saying it 'confirms Israel's deliberate intent to inflict greater damage to the healthcare system'.
Mada
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Mada
Israel kills journalist Hassan Eslaih on his hospital bed
Eslaih was among the most prominent and prolific reporters in Gaza who documented the devastation of Israel's occupation since before its genocidal war began, contributing extensive reporting as well to Mada Masr's coverage of the war. He was killed by an airstrike directly targeting the burns ward at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, where he was recovering from an earlier attack in which Israel had attempted to assassinate him. The Occupation military sought to justify the attempt at the time by claiming Hassan was affiliated with Hamas. With his death, a total of 215 Palestinian journalists have now been killed by Israel since October, 2023, the Government Media Office in Gaza said on Tuesday, condemning the dual attack on journalists and medical facilities as a war crime and a crime against humanity. Fellow journalists who witnessed the moment Eslaih was killed spoke to Mada Masr about the attack on Tuesday morning. Adly Taha and Ibrahim Qanan, two journalists who were at the scene at the time of the attack, told Mada Masr that a huge explosion was heard at 3 am inside Nasser Medical Complex. Shrapnel from the blast flew everywhere, even reaching the journalists' tents near the complex. Moments later, it became clear that the target was the fourth floor of the hospital, where the burns unit was located and where Eslaih was receiving treatment, they said. 'We immediately rushed with the paramedics to the room where Hassan was staying. It was pitch black, but we could see how devastated the place was and how much rubble was everywhere through the lights on our phones,' Taha explained. 'Hassan was still in his bed, completely covered in rubble. We quickly began to remove the rubble off of him, and we discovered that he was still alive and breathing with difficulty.' 'We and the paramedics quickly transferred him to the emergency room. The doctors tried to revive his heart and perform CPR, but it was only a few moments before he passed away.' Taha said it wasn't clear to him what Israel used to assassinate Eslaih, but he suggested, based on the shape of the shrapnel, that the attack was carried out by a suicide drone. This was the fifth time the Occupation forces had attempted to assassinate Eslaih, Taha noted. The first time was when Israel bombed his home and his family's home, followed by the homes of his two brothers. They also attempted to assassinate him last month, when they targeted journalists' tents near Nasser complex, wounding him and 15 others and killing two journalists. The Israeli military followed up today's raid with a statement claiming to have targeted a Hamas command and control center within the complex, without mentioning Eslaih. After the attack in April, the Occupation military claimed Eslaih is affiliated with the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and operates 'under the guise of a journalist and owner of a newspaper company.' Eslaih faced an Israeli incitement campaign over recent months that framed his media coverage of the October 7 Operation Al-Aqsa Flood as proof of military activity. This was echoed last week by Israeli organization Honest Reporting, which also called on several international news agencies to end their cooperation with him. In an interview about the accusations, Eslaih said they were the same old story, a way of attempting to justify the aggression. 'I didn't take part in anything.' 'We feel deep sadness over the loss of Hassan. Hassan was one of the journalists who ignored the incitement campaigns and successive threats he received since the first day of the war of extermination. The Occupation attempted to assassinate him more than once. None of this prevented him from continuing his work with passion and dedication,' Qanan said. 'The occupation fought Hassan everywhere, and suspended his online accounts in an attempt to hinder his work, but he didn't care.' 'We knew the extent of the danger threatening him, and we were worried for his life. But at the same time, we knew how much he loved and was dedicated to the profession of journalism, so he wouldn't give in to any of the Occupation's threats,' he added. Tuesday's strike also killed Brigadier General Ahmed al-Qedra, director of the Anti-Narcotics Police and a member of the Police Command Council at the Interior Ministry in Gaza, who was in the same hospital room as Eslaih, a statement from the ministry said today. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned Eslaih's assassination today, which it said falls within the framework of a systematic Israeli policy of killing journalists and preventing the publication of the truth. For its part, Hamas said today that Eslaih's assassination while receiving medical treatment was a double war crime that reflects Israeli sadism and a systematic insistence on suppressing the truth. Eslaih began contributing to Mada Masr in the early months of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, alongside his work with other media outlets. Over nearly two years, he documented the devastation caused by the ongoing Israeli airstrikes, from interviews he conducted with displaced Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis to photographs capturing the brutal living conditions of displaced people in Mawasi's tents during the harsh winter months and stories from a makeshift school established to keep children learning during the war. Through his personal social media accounts, where he had hundreds of thousands of followers, Eslaih captured scenes of daily life amid the war, including festive moments at Eid prayers and a kahk-making session for young children. Aerial images he captured documented the historic return of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to northern Gaza during the ceasefire. Eslaih's death today comes nearly a week after the deaths of journalists Nour Eddin Abdo and Yahya Subeih, who were killed in two separate Israeli bombings, one targeting a school sheltering displaced people and another a restaurant and a popular market, during a bloody day in which about 92 people were killed by intensive Israeli airstrikes.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Palestinian journalist among two killed in Israeli attack on Gaza hospital
Israel's army has admitted to carrying out 'a targeted attack' on the Nasser Medical Complex in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing two people, including Palestinian journalist Hassan Eslaih. Gaza's Government Media Office on Tuesday confirmed the killing of Eslaih, who was receiving treatment at the hospital's burn unit for severe injuries sustained during an April 7 Israeli strike on a media tent located next to the hospital. The AFP news agency footage from Nasser Hospital after Tuesday's strike showed smoke rising from the facility as rescuers searched through the rubble by the light of torches. A hospital worker who gave his name as Abu Ghali said the Israeli bombardment 'does not differentiate between civilians and military targets'. 'This is a civilian hospital that receives injured people around the clock,' he told AFP. Eslaih was the director of the Alam24 News Agency and a freelancer who contributed to international news organisations, including photos of the Hamas-led October 7 attack. Israel has claimed Eslaih was a Hamas fighter who participated in the October 7 attack, an allegation he vehemently denied. At least 178 journalists and media workers have been killed in Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon since the war began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Gaza's Government Media Office put the death toll at 215. Israel's military said in a post on Telegram that the strike targeted a Hamas 'command and control complex' at the hospital – the largest in southern Gaza – without providing further evidence. 'The compound was used by the terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and [military] troops,' the post said, in what appeared to be a reference to Eslaih and Hamas. Gaza's Health Ministry on Tuesday condemned 'the repeated targeting of hospitals and the pursuit and killing of wounded patients inside treatment rooms', saying it 'confirms Israel's deliberate intent to inflict greater damage to the healthcare system'. Hospitals in Gaza have been a frequent target of Israeli attacks since the war began in October 2023, although attacking health facilities, medical personnel and patients is illegal under the 1949 Geneva Convention. According to officials in Gaza, Israel has bombed and burned at least 36 hospitals across the enclave since the war erupted.
Al Jazeera
07-04-2025
- Al Jazeera
Targeted, killed, burned alive: Journalists in Gaza attacked by Israel
Abed Shaat drifted off to sleep on Sunday night, exhausted after covering Israeli air strikes all day. The 33-year-old freelance photographer had returned to a tent in front of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza where he'd been based along with other journalists since the start of Israel's war on Gaza. Then, they were jolted awake. 'I woke up to the sound of a huge explosion nearby,' Shaat said. 'My colleagues and I immediately rushed out of the tent. [I had] my mobile phone to film. 'The strike had directly hit the journalists' tent across from us. I was horrified – to target journalists like this!' The tent belonged to the TV station Palestine Today. 'I started taking pictures from a distance, but as I got closer to the burning tent, I saw one of my colleagues on fire,' Shaat said. 'I couldn't continue filming. I don't even know how I summoned the courage to approach the flames and try to pull the burning person out. 'The fire was intense. There was a gas canister that had exploded, and another one that was burning. I tried to pull him out by his leg, but his pants tore off in my hand. I tried from another angle, but I couldn't. 'The fire grew so strong, I fell back, I couldn't bear it any longer. Then some of the men came with water to put the fire out. 'I suddenly felt really weak … and lost consciousness.' Israel's attack burned Palestine Today reporter Hilmi al-Faqaawi to death along with another man named Yousef al-Khazindar. Journalists Hassan Eslaih, Ahmed al-Agha, Muhammad Fayek, Abdallah Al-Attar, Ihab al-Bardini and Mahmoud Awad were also injured. The Israeli army said on X it had launched the attack to capture Hassan Abdel Fattah Muhammad Islayh (Eslaih), alleging he was a member of Hamas posing as a journalist. Eslaih, a journalist with a large social media following, was badly wounded in the strike. He had been threatened multiple times by Israeli authorities for covering an attack on an Israeli kibbutz during the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The Israeli army also said it took steps 'to reduce the chance of harming civilians' but did not explain why it chose to bomb a tent full of sleeping journalists to capture one of them. More than 200 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, making it the deadliest ever conflict for journalists. The tent targeted on Monday was outside one of the largest hospitals in southern Gaza. Journalists have been gathering in hospitals from the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza, seeking relatively steady internet service, electricity and safety in numbers. Locals said journalists have been stationed and reporting from Nasser Hospital throughout the conflict. 'We live, sleep and work there. We see each other more than we see our own families,' Shaat said. 'What connects us … is more than just work.' Experts told Al Jazeera in September that Israel's killing of journalists in Gaza shows a clear pattern of targeting journalists. 'There's nothing new in the Israeli occupation's crimes against journalists,' Jad Shahrour, spokesperson for the Samir Kassir Foundation, a Beirut-based media freedom watchdog, told Al Jazeera. 'This isn't the first time during this war, from October 7 to today, whether in Lebanon or Gaza, the Israeli army has directly targeted journalists' centres. 'This, of course, according to international law, is a war crime, and nothing justifies it.' Other journalists killed in Gaza since the start of the war include Al Jazeera Mubasher journalist Hossam Shabat and Al Jazeera reporter Hamza Dahdouh, son of Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh. Both journalists were killed in targeted attacks on their cars, and Israel justified its actions by saying they were part of armed groups but did not provide evidence for the allegations. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 50,700 people in Gaza, most of whom are children or women and, therefore, not considered members of 'terrorist groups' in Israel's classification. Many civilian men – a protected group under international law – have also been killed. Reporters Without Borders told Al Jazeera it was investigating Monday's attack. Journalists in Gaza are walking with targets on their backs, media rights organisations said. 'Israel deliberately bombs journalists because it doesn't want anyone to report the situation,' Shahrour said. The idea, the groups said, is to discourage reporting of possible war crimes Israel is committing to allow Israel to avoid any accountability. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate gave a news conference on Monday, calling for international accountability for Israel's crimes against journalists in Gaza. Speaking to Al Jazeera just after returning from al-Faqaawi's funeral, Shaat spoke of the deep psychological scars the experience has left on him. 'Even now, I don't feel I can move past what I saw. I never imagined in my life that I would be pulling someone while they were on fire.' He sustained minor burns on both hands during the rescue attempt and now cannot hold a camera. 'I feel completely paralysed. … Who are we even doing this for? Does anyone care? Is there anything more horrific than this scene to move people?' 'This isn't the first time someone has burned to death, and it's not the first time journalists have been directly targeted,' Shaat said. 'We still don't know whose turn it will be next.'
