Israeli Airstrike Kills Three Journalists in Deir el-Balah Despite Gaza Ceasefire

Gaza Civil Defense said an Israeli airstrike killed three journalists in the center of the Palestinian territory on Wednesday, January 21, despite a ceasefire that has been in effect since October 10 between Israel and Hamas.

“Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip have killed at least eight Palestinians, including three in Deir el-Balah, and others in Khan Younis and Beit Lahiya”

Al Jazeera

The Israeli army said it targeted three "suspects" maneuvering a drone, and an AFP witness said the journalists were using a drone to film a humanitarian aid distribution run by an Egyptian organization when a vehicle accompanying them was targeted.

Al Jazeera

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

AFP reported that the latter, an independent photojournalist, regularly collaborated with AFP since the evacuation of journalists employed by the Agency to Gaza in early 2024, and that his last report for the agency was published on Monday.

The Israeli army statement said, "Because of the threat the drone posed to the troops, the Israeli forces struck precisely the suspects who had activated it."

On Sunday, Israeli strikes killed at least eight Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, health officials said, as ceasefire efforts meant to end fighting between Israel and the Hamas militant group faltered.

Reuters reported that medics said an Israeli airstrike killed at least three people at a community kitchen near Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza area, while the Israeli military did not immediately comment on that incident.

Al-Jazeera Net

In a separate account, Al Jazeera said Sunday’s attack on Deir el-Balah targeted a community kitchen and that all three victims were community kitchen workers, with Hind Khoudary saying, "This shows that Israel is not only targeting people, but also organisations serving the community across Gaza."

Hamas condemned the attack as a "deliberate war crime" and a renewed scene of the ongoing genocide, while Reuters said Israel and Hamas remained deadlocked in indirect talks to advance U.S. President Donald Trump’s post-war plan for Gaza.

Reuters also cited figures that "Some 870 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the October ceasefire," while four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants during the same period.

The Israeli army launched a ground operation on Monday in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, sending tanks one day after dropping leaflets ordering residents to evacuate, according to Euronews.

Euronews reported that the UN denounced the operation as a devastating blow and that OCHA warned the mass evacuation order issued by the Israeli army "has dealt a new devastating blow to the already fragile lifelines keeping people alive in the Gaza Strip."

Euronews said the area subject to evacuation orders or located inside areas militarized by Israel had risen to 87.8%, leaving 2.1 million civilians confined in a fragmented 12% of the strip, where essential services have collapsed.

The Guardian’s SF translation for AURDIP said the latest assault targeted Deir al-Balah, described as the main hub of humanitarian operations, and said the UN warned that any damage to warehouses, care centers, and a crucial seawater desalination plant there would have life-threatening consequences.

In the same account, Jonathan Whittall of OCHA’s local office posted on X that the territory was in the grip of death conditions, writing, "And if it is avoidable but it happens anyway, then it makes me think that it is intentional."