Israeli attack kills another Palestinian journalist in Gaza

Palestinian journalist Islam al-Komi and his son were killed in a bombing in the Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City, on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported.

This raises the toll of journalists killed in the region to 239, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office (GMO).  

Al-Komi’s last rites were held on Tuesday. A video showed his distressed family, including his orphaned son.

Following the incident, Gaza’s GMO issued a strongly worded statement denouncing what it described as Israel’s systematic targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists. It called on the International Federation of Journalists, the Arab Journalists Union, and global media institutions to publicly condemn these actions against reporters and media workers in Gaza.

Earlier last month, More than 100 journalists from various global media outlets signed a petition demanding “immediate and unsupervised foreign press access to the Gaza Strip”.

The appeal, part of the Freedom To Report initiative, warns that if the warring parties fail to act, media professionals may independently enter Gaza “by any legitimate means, independently, collectively, or in coordination with humanitarian or civil society actors.”

On July 23, the head of the World Health Organization described the situation in Gaza as “man-made mass starvation,” citing an ongoing Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid.

In July this year, Haaretz said that medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported a surge in signs of famine, describing it as an “epidemic”. Hundreds of people are reportedly suffering from exhaustion, severe malnutrition and memory loss, all of which are symptoms of prolonged starvation.

Dr Suhaib Al-Hams, director of the field hospital in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, warned of an impending "wave of deaths" due to organ failure among displaced individuals. 

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023, killing more than 59,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

In times of misinformation, you need news you can trust. We’ve got you covered. Subscribe to Newslaundry and power our work.