Israeli Airstrike Kills AFP Collaborator and Two Palestinian Journalists in Al-Zahra, Gaza

An Israeli air strike on Wednesday killed a regular AFP collaborator and two other Palestinian journalists in the al-Zahra area of central Gaza, according to a Civil Defense press release operating under Hamas control.

Civil Defense identified the three killed journalists as Anas Ghneim, Mohammed Salah Qashta, and Abdoul Raouf Shaath, and said the bodies were transferred to the Martyrs of al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah.

Al-Jazeera Net

The Israeli army said it targeted operators of a drone it deemed suspicious, stating, "Troops identified several suspects operating a drone affiliated with Hamas in central Gaza."

A witness told AFP that the journalists were using a drone to film a humanitarian aid distribution run by the Egyptian Relief Committee when a vehicle accompanying them was targeted by an airstrike.

The Health Ministry of the Hamas government in Gaza said eight more Palestinians were killed on Wednesday during Israeli attacks across the territory, while the ceasefire in Gaza has been in effect since October 10 between Israel and Hamas.

AFP said it was "called for a full and transparent investigation into the circumstances of the death" of its regular contributor Abdoul Raouf Shaath, whose last report for the agency was published on Monday.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the attack, describing it as an "Israel's systematic and deliberate policy" to "deliberately target Palestinian journalists."

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat

Hamas denounced the strike as a "war crime," stressing that the three journalists were killed in the line of duty, while it did not claim any affiliation between the three men and the movement.

On the ground, a witness told AFP that the journalists were using a drone to film a humanitarian aid distribution run by an Egyptian aid organization when a vehicle accompanying them was targeted by an airstrike.

The Israeli army defended the strike by saying it precisely struck the suspects because of "the threat the drone posed to the troops," and noted that "the details of the incident are under review."

The strike came during a fragile ceasefire in Gaza that has been in effect since October 10, with both sides accusing each other of violating it.

Nearly 470 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the truce, according to the Gaza Health Ministry under Hamas authority, while the Israeli army reported three soldiers killed since the same date.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Israeli forces have killed at least 29 Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip between December 2024 and December 2025, and that the toll has surpassed 220 journalists killed by Israel since the start of the war.

L'Humanité said the toll has reached at least 220 journalists killed by Israel, making the Palestinian territory "by far the deadliest place in the world for the press during this period," according to Reporters Without Borders.

As bodies were brought to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younes, dozens of people came to pay tribute, and several journalists wept and embraced one another in the gathering.