War on Gaza: Palestinian journalist killed in Israeli attack on media workers’ tent

The Israeli army attacked a tent housing journalists at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in central Gaza on Monday.

At least one person, journalist Haydar Ibrahim al-Msaddar, was killed, while several others were injured and suffered serious injuries.

According to local authorities, Msaddar was a media researcher and specialist in media affairs.

According to his friend and fellow journalist Islam Bader, Msaddar specialized in the study of propaganda and public opinion.

“The entire contents of the tent are journalists’ equipment,” Youssef al-Hindi, a rescue worker who arrived at the scene after hearing the explosion, told Middle East Eye.

Holding up a press helmet he found at the scene, Hindi said he believed the journalists’ tent had been deliberately attacked.

Khalil al-Dakran, a doctor at Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital, agreed. This was the second time a tent on the hospital premises had been hit, he said.

“This shows the continuation of genocide and massacres in the Gaza Strip,” Dakran told MEE.

“This is very dangerous because hospitals are providing health services while citizens are being targeted.”

According to the Palestinian enclave’s state media office, Msaddar’s death marks the 163rd journalist killed by Israel in the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7.

Although the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) puts the war’s toll at a total of 108 journalists (103 Palestinians, two Israelis and three Lebanese), it states that the war in Gaza was “the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began collecting data in 1992.”

According to the enclave’s Health Ministry, more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli assault on Gaza began.

Hospitals have been repeatedly targeted by the Israeli military, and those that remain functioning are operating at limited capacity, overwhelmed by the number of dead and injured, and struggling to treat patients due to the Israeli siege of Gaza.

“The hospital is in a very bad state as it is unable to accommodate the number of injured arriving daily, especially due to the lack of medicines and medical equipment,” Dakran said.