GAZA CITY — At least seven people, including five Al Jazeera journalists, were killed on Saturday when an Israeli airstrike hit a media tent in Gaza. The tent, set up outside a hospital, had been used by the network’s reporters to cover the ongoing conflict.
Among the dead were veteran correspondents Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqea, who had been covering the war’s devastation for months, along with cameramen Ibrahim Daher, Moumin Alaywa, and Mohammed Noufal. Witnesses said the tent, clearly marked for press, was destroyed in a single strike.
The attack comes amid what witnesses describe as one of the most intense bombardments in recent weeks, with Israeli forces deploying “fire belt” tactics — rapid, concentrated shelling — in the eastern and southern districts of Gaza City.
Al Jazeera condemned the strike as a direct assault on press freedom, calling for an independent investigation. The network said its journalists were clearly identifiable and stationed in a civilian area.
The incident adds to a growing list of media casualties in the war, which is now in its 22nd month, and has drawn renewed calls from international press freedom groups for the protection of journalists in conflict zones.
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