CrossFireArabia, Author at CrossFireArarbia

‘Stop Killing Our Journalists’

CrossFireArabia
May 4, 2026

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate in the Gaza Strip held a protest Sunday calling for international protection for reporters and an end to Israel’s “genocide” against media workers amid the ongoing war since October 2023.

Coinciding with the World Press Freedom Day on May 3, the rally took place outside a solidarity tent run by the syndicate in the courtyard of the destroyed Rashad al-Shawa Cultural Center in western Gaza City.

Journalists, correspondents from local and international outlets, and representatives of media and rights organizations took part, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

Participants raised banners demanding protection for journalists, an end to direct targeting, and guarantees for press freedom under “extremely dangerous” security and humanitarian conditions.

The Israeli genocidal war on Gaza began on Oct. 8, 2023, and has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and wounded over 172,000, including women and children.

Despite a ceasefire in effect since October 2025, Israel continues daily strikes and a blockade that has killed hundreds more and worsened humanitarian conditions in the enclave, home to about 2.4 million Palestinians, including 1.5 million displaced.

Systematic targeting

Tahseen al-Astal, deputy head of the journalists syndicate in Gaza, said Palestinian journalists continue to carry out their work despite a “policy of systematic targeting” by Israel.

“The Palestinian journalist will not abandon his identity, his narrative, or his mission and will remain committed to conveying the truth to the world,” he told participants.

Threats, killings, and attacks on journalists’ families and workplaces constitute a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” Astal said.

He called on international institutions and the International Federation of Journalists to assume their legal and moral responsibilities to provide protection for reporters in Gaza.

He urged an end to “the genocide on civilians and journalists and accountability for those responsible,” warning that “impunity encourages further violations against media workers.”

Ahed Farawna, secretary of the syndicate, told Anadolu that targeting journalists in Gaza represents “one of the gravest crimes against journalism in modern history.”

He said more than 260 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the start of the war, alongside hundreds injured or detained and extensive destruction of media institutions.

Such targeting reflects a “systematic approach to silencing the Palestinian media voice,” Farawna added.

He stressed that the international community bears a moral and legal responsibility to act urgently to protect journalists and hold perpetrators accountable.

Calls for international action

Mohammad Abu Nammous, a correspondent for Al-Ghad TV, told Anadolu that more than 262 journalists have been killed by Israel since October 2023.

A number of journalists remain detained or in unclear conditions, while more than 420 have been injured during field coverage, he added.

“The (Israeli) occupation has destroyed most media offices, causing major paralysis in the media infrastructure inside the enclave,” he said.

“These figures reflect a policy targeting press freedom and restricting access to information,” he added, calling for translating international support for press freedom into concrete measures on the ground.

Nahed Abu Harbeed, a correspondent for Alkofiya TV, said journalists in Gaza continue to work “despite significant risks.”

“They operate under direct threat of bombardment and targeting,” she told Anadolu.

Many journalists have lost colleagues during the war, yet continue their work out of a commitment to conveying the truth and documenting violations, she added.

In addition to daily bombardment, Israel continues to block the entry of agreed-upon quantities of food, medicine, medical supplies, and shelter materials into Gaza, where about 2.4 million Palestinians—including 1.5 million displaced—face dire conditions.

News

Israeli Sniper Shoots Bride 10 Days Before Her Wedding

CrossFireArabia
May 4, 2026

Ten days before her wedding, Hala Salem Darwish was preparing for a celebration. Instead, she now lies in intensive care after a bullet from an Israeli sniper pierced her family home and struck her in the head, turning her wedding countdown into a fight for survival.

The 19-year-old was helping her family prepare food shortly before sunset when the bullet entered through a window, hitting the back left side of her head and causing her to collapse in front of her relatives.

A wedding interrupted

Her fiancé, Mohammed Shreihi, said the shooting came just days before the ceremony they had long awaited.

“There were only 10 days left until our wedding,” he told Anadolu. “In a single moment, everything changed.”

He said the bullet remains lodged in her head and has caused severe damage to brain tissue, leaving her condition critical and unstable.

Doctors have so far been unable to operate, waiting for her condition to stabilize.

“She was like any bride, full of joy and anticipation,” he said. “Now we are only hoping she survives.”

A father’s memory

Her father, Salim, said the moment of the shooting continues to haunt him.

“We were preparing food when suddenly an Israeli bullet came through the window and hit her,” he said. “She fell in front of us. I cannot forget that scene.”

He added that her wedding had been scheduled for early May, a day the family had been preparing for despite the hardships of war.

Health system on the brink

Hala’s case reflects the broader reality in Gaza, where the health system has been pushed to the brink.

Doctors say the treatment she needs is not available inside the enclave and requires urgent transfer abroad.

Palestinian estimates indicate that around 22,000 wounded and sick people in Gaza need to leave the territory for treatment amid severe shortages of medicines and medical equipment.

Her fiancé has appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross and humanitarian organizations to intervene, hoping she can be evacuated in time.

For now, the wedding dress remains unworn, and the future she had planned has been replaced by uncertainty according to Anadolu.

Israel has continued to commit daily violations of a ceasefire deal that was signed last October, killing 830 Palestinians and injuring 2,345, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ceasefire was meant to end a two-year Israeli onslaught on Gaza which left more than 72,000 dead and 172,000 wounded and destroyed 90% of civilian infrastructure.

The UN estimates reconstruction costs at around $70 billion.

Uncategorized

Ahmad Al Sharif Celebrates His Wedding on a ‘Bulldozer”

CrossFireArabia
May 3, 2026

Ahmad and his bride will never forget their wedding day. It was a joyous occasion because he was married on a bulldozer amidst the ruins of his Sheikh Radwan neighborhood which is part of Gaza City.

Social media websites covered the festive occasion at length, Friday, with him being carried in the mouth of the bulldozer as he danced next to his bride with people cheering him on as Palestinian danced the dabbakeh folklore and traditional song.

The bride Ahmad Al Sharif travelled back with his wife Alaa, from Deir Al Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip. The newly-weds were part of a group wedding of a massive 300 people that was held in that city’s “Dier Al Balah Services Club” and organized by the UAE-based Al Khalifah Humanitarian Corp.

Such happiness can only be displayed in Gaza where the Strip is “starving but happy” according to its people. “I was particularly keen to have part of my wedding on a bulldozer to show the ruins and debris my neighborhood and city has been reduced to by the Israelis,” Al Sharif said.

For him Friday, will be remembered as an ecstatic occasion. The collective wedding began in Deir Al Balah at 1 pm on Friday noon where brides and grooms from all over the Gaza Strip got “hitched” in plush rented out white dresses and black suits and watched by thousands of people.

About 120 couples came from the Radwan, Shujayia, and Rimal areas of Gaza City and the north of the Strip while the rest from central Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah, the last city being on the southern border with the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt.

Some of the couples also came from their new homes in tent cities hoisted in the months after the Israeli genocide soon after 7 October, 2023 when thousands of people were displaced and chased away through Israeli guns.

The big wedding ceremony lasted till mid-afternoon Asr prayer and all the couples started to move out and go back to where they came from.

“We wanted to get back to our homes before dark,” Al Sharif. “I actually wanted to get back to my neighborhood before sunset to have another party, and boy, what a send that turned out to be.” This was true because of the videos that splashed the Internet.

He surprised everyone by having the party on a bulldozer with his bride sitting next to him; it is him and his bride Alaa that made the news headlines on social media websites as the other couples took their new brides back home without much pomp nor ceremony considering the circumstances.

“I wanted to have a party among the rubbles as a point of defiance and show the Israeli army that they can’t beat our spirit,” he added. “We had a good show, judging from the number of people who came to greet us and join in the festivities,” he added.

Most of the people of Gaza has been reduced to living among the wreckage, debris and in tents. The UN estimates that between 57.5 to 68 million tons of debris clutter the Strip today; and these piles were created by the 100,000 tons of explosives thrown on the enclave by Israel since 7 October, 2023.

The total number of people that have been killed in Gaza stands at 72,600 while over 172,000 have been injured as shown by the Gaza Health Ministry.

Not many married during the genocide of the last two years or so. Young people have been delaying till things become relatively quite, war-wise. Ever since 11 October, 2025, a ceasefire took place in Gaza as backed by US President Donald Trump.

Although the killings and injury continue through the Israeli military, by comparison, they are much lower than when the war on Gaza had been at its highest, and which explains why more and more people are getting married in the enclave.

Marwan Asmar is a writer from Amman and is Chief Editor of crossfirearabia.com

News

UNDP: 8000 Bodies Remain Under Rubble!

CrossFireArabia
May 3, 2026

Around 8,000 Palestinian bodies are believed to be trapped under the rubble in the Gaza Strip, where less than 1% of debris has been cleared after Israel’s two-year genocidal war on the enclave, according to an Israeli media report, citing a UN official.

The Haaretz newspaper, citing an unnamed official from the UN Development Programme, said the slow pace of debris removal means the process could take up to seven years.

Thousands of bodies are still buried beneath collapsed buildings across the enclave, the official added, as families continue to wait to recover and bury relatives.

The assessment is based on data from Palestinian civil defense authorities, which have warned of severe shortages in equipment and capacity, slowing efforts to clear vast areas of destruction.

Israel has continued to commit daily violations of a ceasefire deal that was signed last October, killing 828 Palestinians and injuring 2,342, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ceasefire was meant to end a two-year Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which left more than 72,000 dead and 172,000 wounded, and destroyed 90% of civilian infrastructure.

The UN estimates reconstruction costs at around $70 billion according to Anadolu.

Features

‘Living Graves’, Is How Palestinian Journalist Describes Israeli Prison

CrossFireArabia
May 2, 2026

Veteran Palestinian journalist Ali Samoudi described Israeli prisons as “living graves” after his release on Thursday, appearing in severely deteriorated physical condition following his arrest by Israeli forces last year.

Samoudi, who worked for the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds and international media outlets, said he lost 60 kilograms (about 132 pounds) while in Israeli prison. “My weight was 120 kilograms (about 264 pounds); now my weight is 60 kilograms,” Samoudi said.

According to Samoudi, prison conditions were harsh and cruel, and prisoners suffered. “The food is very bad. Even a cat would not eat what they eat,” he said. “Prisoners have nothing. No notebook, no pen, nothing,” he added, calling on the families of detainees to take care of their well-being.

He was arrested in April 2025 on false claims of transferring funds to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Samoudi and his family strongly denied the allegations.

In a statement issued in January, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said al-Samoudi has not been granted a fair trial and that his arrest is “a blatant violation of international law and press freedom”.

The syndicate also warned “that his life is now at risk” due to the harsh and inhumane treatment he has been experiencing in prison.

Samoudi’s son, Mohammed, said his father was an “independent journalist who isn’t affiliated with any party,” adding he was “surprised to hear him being accused of ties with Islamic Jihad. I was in shock.”

Mohammed said the forces raided their home at around 5 A.M., searched the premises and destroyed some of the family’s belongings before taking his father away. He said he didn’t know where his father is being held, but said the family is particularly worried because he is diabetic and suffers from high blood pressure, and therefore needs a special diet and medications.

On May 8, 2025, Wafa reported that an Israeli court had issued an administrative detention order against him for a period of six months.

This was because the Israeli army said it did not have “sufficient evidence” to formally charge him and had hence issued an administrative detention order.

In a statement issued to the United States news group CNN, the Israeli army said: “As sufficient evidence was not found against him, and in light of the accumulated intelligence material, security authorities requested to consider issuing an administrative detention order.”

The military claimed the order was justified as Samoudi’s “presence” posed “a danger to the security of the region”.

Since then, Samoudi has been held in administrative detention and his detention order has been repeatedly renewed.

Samoudi also witnessed the Israeli killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin in 2022 and was himself injured that day.

“I was there personally and witnessed the whole thing,” he said about the killing of his colleague. “There was no one there apart from the Israeli force, and they were the ones who shot at us.”

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said Samoudi is among more than 3,530 Palestinians held under administrative detention, in addition to over 40 journalists still held in Israeli prisons, including four women.

The group renewed calls for the release of all detained journalists and urged the international community to take responsibility for ongoing violations against prisoners.

More than 9,600 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, including women and children, facing torture, starvation and medical neglect, which have led to the deaths of dozens, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights groups. – Quds News Network