Palestinian journalist killed in Israeli bombing after threats to end Gaza coverage
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian journalist on Sunday, weeks after he received threatening messages instructing him to stop filming Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.
Hassan Hamad, 19, died when his home in Jabalia refugee camp was struck by artillery fire.
The Israeli military sent tanks and troops into the camp in the northern Gaza Strip late on Saturday following a night of heavy air strikes. It marked the military's third ground assault on Jabalia since the war on Gaza began a year ago.
Hamad was reporting on the new Israeli incursion just moments before he was killed.
A colleague with access to his account on X said that Hamad had been sending videos about the assault late into the night.
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During their last phone call at 6am (3am GMT), Hamad said: “There they are. There they are. It’s over.”
A few months before his killing, Hamad shared a screenshot with his colleagues of a threatening WhatsApp message he received from an Israeli number.
The message read: “Listen… If you continue spreading lies about Israel, we'll come for you next and turn your family into... This is your last warning.”
Listen, If you continue spreading lies about Israel, we'll come for you next and turn your family into [...] This is your last warning".. Journalist Hassan Hamad received this message on WhatsApp, along with several calls from an Israeli officer ordering him to stop filming in… pic.twitter.com/q6SAzMj5xc
— Maha Hussaini (@MahaGaza) October 6, 2024
According to his colleagues, this was not the only time Hamad received threats due to his work. He had also received phone calls and direct text messages from an Israeli officer ordering him to stop filming.
“He received the first message on 13 May. After that, he received multiple threats over the phone and text messages asking him to stop working,” said Ashraf Mashharawi, manager of Media Town Production Company, where Hamad worked.
“He refused to comply, believing he had done nothing wrong and was simply performing the normal role any journalist would. We advised him to reduce his work, but he completely refused. He said: ‘I won’t be intimidated by the threats. We are in the right and they are in the wrong,’” Mashharawi added.
'It’s clear the shell was fired directly and specifically at Hassan’s bedroom to intentionally target him'
- Ashraf Mashharawi, Hamad's colleague
“Although he was still young, I was astonished at how calmly he handled the message and insisted he would continue his work regardless.”
A few hours before his death, Hamad posted about surviving an Israeli drone attack in Jabalia.
“Thank God, my colleague, journalist Moamen Abu Awda and I survived the quadcopter shots in the vicinity of al-Muqaid in the middle of Jabalia camp,” Hamad said.
Mashharawi said this was not the first time Hamad survived Israeli attacks.
“They previously fired artillery shells just beside him while he was filming. Another time, a quadcopter opened fire directly at him,” he added.
In his last post on X, a few minutes before his killing, Hamad reported on an Israeli bombardment of a residential home in Jabalia that killed six Palestinians.
“A house was targeted near the intersection in Jabalia camp, north of the Gaza Strip. According to initial reports, there are six martyrs, including a groom who had been married only a week ago,” he said.
According to Mashharawi, Israeli artillery directly targeted Hamad’s bedroom, where he was uploading footage he had filmed during the Israeli incursion.
“Hassan was killed in his bedroom at dawn. He had just returned to his room to send us some materials when he was directly killed. His brother, who was [in another room], was slightly injured. But it’s clear the shell was fired directly and specifically at Hassan’s bedroom to intentionally target him,” Mashharawi told Middle East Eye.
“Hassan was threatened multiple times because he remained in Jabalia, and many of the photos and videos that made headlines were taken by him. Apparently, this bothered [the Israelis] - the fact that his coverage gained attention."
At least 175 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023, according to Gaza's government media office.
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