An Israeli strike in Gaza has killed an Al Jazeera journalist, deepening the toll on media workers covering a war that continues to claim lives despite a ceasefire.
Qatar-based Al Jazeera said on its website that Ahmed Wishah, one of its cameramen, was killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had carried out the strike that killed Wishah, alleging that the Al Jazeera journalist was a “Hamas terrorist”.
“The IDF confirms it carried out a strike on Ahmed Wishah, who was a Hamas terrorist,” a military spokesman said.
Elsewhere in Gaza, health officials said Israeli strikes killed five people, among them four members of the same family, in the latest burst of violence to shake the Palestinian territory in spite of the truce.
Israel and Hamas have traded near-daily accusations of violating the ceasefire, while Gaza remains trapped in recurring bloodshed and efforts to secure a permanent end to the war have made little headway.
One overnight Israeli airstrike struck an apartment building in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood, killing four members of the al-Safadi family — a husband, wife and their two daughters — according to the civil defence agency, a rescue service operating under Hamas authority.
The agency said 12 other people were wounded in the attack.
Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital said it had received the bodies of four members of the al-Safadi family, including two children.
“Around 2 o’clock, my cousins were asleep when a missile struck them. They have no connection to Hamas, nor are they involved in anything. They’re just innocent children,” said Nael al-Safadi, a relative.
Video from the scene showed the outside wall of the apartment torn away, revealing piles of rubble, clothing, mattresses and other household items scattered through the wrecked interior.
“By God, I still feel as though I’m in a dream – I never expected this to happen to us,” Mohammad al-Safadi, who survived the strike said.
“I’m a civilian. I swear to God I’ve never carried a weapon or fired one. What do you want from me? Go after whoever you’re after, what’s my fault in this?”
Al-Shifa hospital also said it had received one body after a separate Israeli drone strike near an intersection in the northern part of Gaza City.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the two incidents.
Since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October last year, at least 1,012 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures the United Nations considers reliable.
Over the same period, the Israeli army has reported five deaths among its own forces.
Media restrictions and limited access to Gaza prevent AFP from independently verifying casualty figures or reporting freely across the territory.
