DOHA: Two Al Jazeera journalists were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike in Gaza, the Qatar-based channel reported as the crisis rages in the Palestinian territory.

“Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail Al Ghoul and his cameraman Rami Al Refee have been killed in an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip,” the network reported adding the strike “targeted a car near the Aidia area, west of Gaza City”.

Since the start of the conflict, Al Jazeera has aired continuous on-the-ground reporting on the effects of Israel’s campaign. The network’s office in Gaza has already been bombed in the conflict and two other correspondents killed.

In a statement, Hamas condemned the killings as a “heinous crime” which it said was “aimed at terrorising and silencing” Palestinian journalists as they reported “the ongoing genocide against our people in the Gaza Strip for nearly ten months”.

Al Jazeera has been the focus of months of criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. Last month, an Israeli court confirmed it had extended a ban on the network, which broadcasts in Arabic and English, initially placed on Al Jazeera in early May.

Al Jazeera‘s bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Al Dahdouh, was wounded in an Israeli strike in December that killed the network’s cameraman.

His wife, two of their children and a grandson were killed in the October bombardment of central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. His eldest son was the Al Jazeera staff journalist killed in January when a strike targeted a car in Rafah.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2024