Radio director killed in Gaza Strip, number of journalists killed rises to 160

Palestinian journalist Mohammed Abdullah Mashmash was killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday, the government office in the Gaza Strip confirmed, adding to the continuing atrocities against media workers in the wake of the war between Israel and the enclave.

Mashmash was program director at Al-Aqsa Voice Radioa radio station based in the war-affected enclave, the territory’s government office confirmed.

According to some Palestinian news agencies, Mashamash was killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the UN-run Al-Razi school in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least five people. Hamas officials, however, did not elaborate on the circumstances of his death in their statement.

At least 160 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli military offensive on October 7, the territory’s government office said. Attacks on media workers are ongoing.

The government office in the Gaza Strip informed the Turkish Anadolu Agency: “We ask Almighty God for mercy for all our fellow journalists who have been martyred, and for acceptance and paradise, as well as patience and comfort for their families and the Palestinian journalistic community.”

The bombing of the school came as Israel intensified its attacks on Gaza on Tuesday. According to a Gaza Civil Defense spokesman, Israel carried out several attacks that killed at least 44 Palestinians and injured 99.

An attack on a gas station in Al-Mawasi in the south of the Gaza Strip reportedly killed 17 people, while an attack on a roundabout in the north of the area killed an unspecified number of people.

During the months-long war in Gaza, the Israeli military has arrested, wounded and killed journalists as part of its offensive. Those killed include Al-Jazeera Cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, Al-Ghad Television journalist Yazan al-Zuweidi and Hadf News’ Ahmad Bdeir.

Many of Mashmashs Al-Aqsa Radio Since October 7, colleagues have also been killed by Israeli forces, including Yahya Abu Manih and Duaa Sharaf, who was killed along with her child.

Israel also targeted journalists outside the Gaza Strip, committing atrocities against media workers in the occupied West Bank and southern Lebanon.

The Gaza Bureau Chief for Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, The new Arabs Sister site, was also arrested by Israeli forces in December last year in a horrific ordeal in Beit Lahia.

Diaa al-Kahlout was forcibly abducted from his home, stripped down to his underwear, and physically abused and tortured for 33 days in Israeli custody.

Also on Tuesday, the Palestinian Journalists Association said that Israeli forces had committed a total of 491 attacks against media workers in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in the first half of the year.

They said at least 50 journalists were still being held by Israeli forces in the Palestinian territories.

Since October 7, the Israeli army has killed at least 38,794 Palestinians (as of Wednesday) in its brutal bombardment of homes, schools and hospitals.

The Israeli offensive and siege of the Gaza Strip has also created a catastrophic humanitarian situation in the enclave, characterized by severe food shortages, the spread of disease and a severe lack of basic necessities and medicines.

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