War on Gaza: Palestinian journalist killed in Israeli strike on tent sheltering media workers
The Israeli army struck a tent sheltering journalists in Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, central Gaza on Monday.
At least one person, journalist Haydar Ibrahim al-Msaddar, was killed while several others were wounded and suffered serious injuries.
Msaddar was a media researcher and a specialist in media affairs, according to local authorities.
According to his friend and fellow journalist Islam Bader, Msaddar had specialised in the study of propaganda and public opinion.
“All the contents in the tent are journalistic equipment,” Youssef al-Hindi, a rescue worker who attended the scene after hearing the explosion, told Middle East Eye.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Holding up a press helmet he found at the scene, Hindi said that he believes the journalists' tent was intentionally targeted.
Khalil al-Dakran, a doctor at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, agreed. It was the second time a tent in the grounds of the hospital had been hit, he said.
“This shows the continuation of the genocide and the massacres in the Gaza Strip,” Dakran told MEE.
“That is very dangerous because hospitals are providing health services while citizens are being targeted.”
Msaddar’s death makes him the 163rd journalist to be killed by Israel in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on 7 October, according to the Palestinian enclave’s government media office.
While the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has a lower toll with 108 journalist casualties in the war in total (103 Palestinian, two Israeli and three Lebanese), it said the war in Gaza was “the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992”.
Over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s was on Gaza started, according to the enclave’s health ministry.
Hospitals have been repeatedly targeted by the Israeli military, with those still functioning only doing so at limited capacity. They are also overwhelmed with the number of killed and wounded people and are struggling to treat patients due to Israel’s siege on Gaza.
“The hospital is going through very bad conditions, as it is incapable of receiving the number of injuries it is getting daily, especially with the lack of medicines and medical equipment,” Dakran said
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
