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France 24
24-04-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Gaza: Israeli army tells civilians to move to area no longer considered 'humanitarian'
'The fire was intense and powerful. Rescue teams came to control the blaze, but it was too late.' Abed Shaat, a Palestinian journalist, was in the Al-Mawasi area, located west of Khan Younis and north of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, when an Israeli army strike hit a displacement camp on the night of April 16 to 17. Shaat arrived on the scene a few minutes after the explosion. He posted images of the fire provoked by the strike on his Instagram account. 'I went directly on site and we were surprised to see that the target was a number of tents belonging to displaced people, which were burning intensely,' he told the FRANCE 24 Observers team. 'Entire families were burning in these flames, including children and women.' In total, at least 16 people, including several women and children, died in this strike on displaced people's tents. Al-Mawasi, an area long designated as a 'humanitarian zone' by the Israeli army Our team reached out to the Israeli army, which said they had struck 'a Hamas terrorist'. 'The IDF [the Israeli army] is aware of the claim that as a result of the strike, several uninvolved civilians were harmed. The incident is under review," they added. This strike on Al-Mawasi is far from an isolated case. On the morning of April 21, a drone strike hit a tent of displaced people, killing at least two. The same thing happened on April 19, when a missile filmed by Shaat struck right in the middle of the tents. The UN recorded at least 23 incidents of Israeli strikes on displaced people's tents in the Al-Mawasi area since Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18. Israel claims responsibility for over a hundred air strikes across the entire Gaza Strip during the same period. Since October 2023, the Israeli army had unilaterally designated, without consulting with humanitarian organisations, the Al-Mawasi area as supposedly more protected. Before the ceasefire was agreed upon between Hamas and Israel in mid-January, the Israeli army was still calling on Gazans in its evacuation orders to seek refuge in this 'humanitarian zone', represented in yellow in the document below, published on January 12, 2025. The Al-Mawasi area 'currently not defined as a safe zone' by Israel… Since the ceasefire broke down on March 18, the Al-Mawasi area is no longer represented in the same way in the Israeli army's evacuation orders. It no longer appears in yellow and is no longer designated as a 'humanitarian zone'. These documents simply mention the 'known shelters of Al-Mawasi'. When asked by our team about this change on April 18, the Israeli army confirmed that this area was no longer considered a humanitarian zone since the ceasefire ended. They also said that the Al-Mawasi area was 'currently not defined as a safe zone'. In fact, even before, the Al-Mawasi area was not considered a safe zone by the Israeli army, but rather as a relatively more protected area compared to the rest of the Gaza Strip. ...which nonetheless continues to tell Gazans to go there However, despite the area no longer being considered a humanitarian zone, Al-Mawasi still remains the only evacuation site designated by the Israeli army, as indicated by the more than 20 evacuation orders counted by the FRANCE 24 Observers team since March 18. In a video published on April 1, the Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli army Avichay Adraee had himself called on Gazans to move to this area. When we asked Gazan journalist Rami Abou Jamous about this change on April 21, he said the Israeli army 'has not officially declared that Al-Mawasi is no longer a humanitarian zone'. He also said he witnessed an intensification of strikes in the area since the ceasefire broke down. 'They haven't stopped for three weeks. Almost every day, every night, there's a tent of displaced people burning," he said. 'Whether there are humanitarian zones or not, today, there is no safe place in Gaza,' said Jean-François Corty, the president of the NGO Médecins du Monde (Doctors of the World). He told our team that he had not been notified of any change in the zone's status, despite the NGO teams being on the ground. In recent weeks, they themselves suffered bombings just a few hundred metres away from their consultation sites. 'All we know is that a large part of the population is in Al-Mawasi because that's where they were told to go. Humanitarian or not, this zone is the one that has been recommended by the authorities. If you don't go to these zones and you stay in the north or in the south [of the Gaza Strip] in so-called 'military' zones, you are killed without warning,' he said. A 'humanitarian zone' hit at least 97 times by Israel between May 2024 and January 2025 Abou Jamous also pointed out that this humanitarian zone has never been completely spared from Israeli bombings: 'People know that there is no humanitarian or safe zone in Gaza since the beginning of the war.' Since May 2024, the Israeli army has attacked the area multiple times. In late January, the BBC's verification team, BBC Verify, counted a total of at least 97 strikes on this zone between May 2024 and January 2025. In mid-July, the Israeli army killed over 100 people in two strikes on displacement camps, as our team reported. When questioned about this at the time, the Israeli army declared that Hamas 'has increased its military presence and operations from the humanitarian zone'. The Israeli army also acknowledged that they were carrying out strikes 'within the humanitarian zone [...] when operationally necessary'. After one of these attacks, UNRWA Director Philippe Lazzarini declared: 'There is no 'safe' or 'humanitarian' zone in Gaza. [...] Yesterday's attack & the mass casualties are a stark reminder that no one is safe in Gaza, wherever they are.' Evacuation orders affecting 69% of Gazan territory Since March, 69% of the Gaza Strip's territory is now subject to evacuation orders, according to a UNRWA report published on April 17. These orders are directly linked to Israel's strategy of territorial occupation, as its army declared on April 16 that it controlled 30% of the territory, including a large buffer zone that now encloses Gaza. 'There have been a lot of evacuation orders, but as long as there is no ground operation with tanks in the streets, residents prefer to stay in their homes rather than being displaced,' said Abou Jamous. The journalist was also affected by an evacuation order, but he chose to stay home with his family in Gaza City. According to the last available data from the Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry, at least 1,827 Palestinians have been killed since March 18, 2025, bringing the total number of deaths in Gaza to 51,201 since the start of the Israeli retaliatory military offensive just over 18 months ago.
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.'
Middle East Eye
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Gaza: Israel bombs media tent, killing journalist and burning others
TRIGGER WARNING: the video below contains highly distressing content Israeli forces bombed a tent sheltering reporters in Khan Younis on Monday, setting it on fire and killing two while others were trapped in the flames. The strike, which targeted the tent near Nasser Hospital, killed journalist Hilmi al-Faqawi and citizen Yousef al-Khazindar, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Several other journalists in the tent were wounded, including Ahmed Mansour, Hassan Islayeh, Ahmed al-Agha, Mohammed Fayeq, Abdullah al-Attar, Ihab al-Bardini, Mahmoud Awad, Majed Qudaih, and Ali Islayh, with some in critical condition. The bombing directly struck Hassan Islayeh's phone, with shrapnel wounding him and several reporters. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Abed Shaat, a journalist who survived the attack, told MEE that around 3am, an Israeli strike hit the tent where journalists were known to be staying, without any prior warning. 'These journalists were well-known, and this [displacement] camp was widely recognised as a place where journalists stayed, working to send messages, give a voice, and paint a picture of the situation. They report on people's struggles and worries,' Shaat said. He added that most of his colleagues were asleep at the time of the attack. He described the scenes as 'incredibly harsh, saddening, and painful' and said he rushed toward his colleague Mansour, one of those severely wounded in the attack, as he burned alive. 'To see your journalist colleague engulfed in flames, I don't think you can witness anything more difficult than that,' he said. In his attempt to rescue his fellow journalist, Shaat sustained slight burns to his hands. 'God have mercy on him, he is now receiving treatment.' He added that several reporters are receiving medical care for mild to serious wounds. In widely circulated footage, Mansour, a correspondent for the local Palestine Today news agency, is seen engulfed in flames as colleagues desperately attempt to save him. Mansour was left in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. Updates about journalists conditions after Israeli attack: ➡️Journalist Hilmi Faqaawi was KILLED ➡️Journalist Ahmad Mansour is suffering severe and critical burns and wounds ➡️Hassan Slayyeh is suffering from crushed fingers in his right hand and moderate head injuries. He… — Motasem A Dalloul (@AbujomaaGaza) April 7, 2025 'The tent was known to everyone as one for journalists, this confirms that this was a targeted attack on journalists,' Shaat said. 'Our message is that we continue on our path, this path we chose as journalists, as we report on people's struggles and create a voice for our people in Gaza, who are enduring a genocidal war for more than 15 months.' News graveyard Over the weekend, Palestinian journalist Islam Nasr al-Din Muqadad was killed alongside her son after an Israeli strike targeted her home in Khan Younis. Since launching its war on Gaza in October 2023, Israel has killed 210 Palestinian journalists. Israel's war on Gaza has been the "worst ever conflict" for journalists according to a report by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. What it's like to be a journalist in Gaza right now Read More » The report, titled News Graveyards: How Dangers to War Reporters Endanger the World, said the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip since October 2023 had "killed more journalists than the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War (including the conflicts in Cambodia and Laos), the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s and 2000s, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan, combined". "In 2023, a journalist or media worker was, on average, killed or murdered every four days. In 2024, it was once every three days," said the report. "Most reporters harmed or killed, as is the case in Gaza, are local journalists." The Committe to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in February that a record number of journalists were killed globally in 2024, with Israel responsible for nearly 70 percent of the deaths. The CPJ accused Israel of attempting to stifle investigations of incidents, shift blame onto journalists and ignore its duty to hold people to account for the killings.
