Another Palestinian reporter killed, journalist toll rises to 41

A Palestinian reporter and his 42 family members have been killed in a “targeted bombing” at his house near the port, west of Gaza city, Al Jazeera reported citing the official Palestinian news agency. 

Journalist Mohammad Abu Hasira was killed in the Israeli air strike that took place overnight between Sunday and Monday, said Hamas-run Wafa news agency, where Hasira worked. He is now one of the 41 journalists killed in the region since the Hamas-Israel escalations began on October 7. 

Till now, more than 10,000 people have been killed in Gaza, while the toll in Israel is over 1,400. Among the journalists who have been killed,  36 are Palestinian, four are Israeli, and one is Lebanese, said non-profit Reporters without Border.

Meanwhile, watchdog  Committee for Protection of Journalists said October was the “deadliest month” for journalists since the organisation began documenting incidents of killing of journalists in 1992. Besides the deaths, eight journalists have been injured, three are missing and nine have been arrested since the escalations. 

Last week, journalist Mohammed Abu Hatab and 11 of his family members were killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home in South Gaza’s Khan Younis. 

Until half an hour before his killing, Hatab had been reporting from Gaza’s Nasser Hospital alongside his colleague. As Hatab’s death sent shockwaves in the newsroom, his colleagues broke down on air.  

Many of the journalists killed in the conflict were at work, trying to make audiences across the world aware of the horrors of war despite obstacles to their work. From a mother of three to a reporter known for their “empathy”, these journalists also lived a life off the camera. Read all about it here.