Al Jazeera says its reporter was ‘stripped, severely beaten, held for 12 hours’ by Israeli forces

Several journalists including Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul were allegedly detained by Israeli forces and “severely beaten” during Israel’s fourth raid into Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital on Monday, Al Jazeera reported. 

Al-Ghoul, who was one of the 80 people detained, was released after 12 hours. He was reportedly “dragged away” by the Israeli defence forces  He told Al Jazeera that the IDF also “destroyed media equipment and arrested journalists gathered in a room used by media teams” at the hospital. 

The Al Jazeera correspondent said the journalists were “stripped of their clothes and forced to lie on their stomachs as they were blindfolded and their hands tied”. They were reportedly assaulted along  with “many Palestinians”, who were then “put inside an Israeli military truck and taken to an unknown location”, the report said citing witnesses.

Another Al Jazeera reporter said Al-Ghoul was “tortured, beaten and detained by the Israeli military along with his crew member on the ground”.

A section of the hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip, which shelters thousands of civilians, including medical staff and patients, was also destroyed. The region’s hospitals reportedly serve as a base to journalists as they are “one of the very few areas that have generators, essential to provide internet service”.

In the ongoing war, which began nearly six months ago, more than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including at least 95 journalists. 

Newslaundry had earlier reported that many of the journalists killed in the conflict were at work, trying to make audiences across the world aware of the horrors of war. 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.