The Israeli military has demolished more than 300 homes over the past three days in the Zeitoun neighborhood in the central Gaza Strip as part of its ongoing occupation plan.
Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, said Wednesday that the Israeli army has conducted heavy assaults in Zeitoun, deliberately targeting civilian residential areas, according to Anadolu.
He noted that the Israeli forces particularly targeted buildings with five floors or more, and due to the explosives used, surrounding structures have also been destroyed.
Some homes were destroyed while residents were still inside, causing casualties, with demolitions carried out without prior warning and intense bombardment preventing civil defense teams from reaching the wounded.
Israel is facing mounting condemnation for its genocidal war on Gaza, where it has killed more than 61,700 people since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
The UN organization which champions culture and education, UNESCO, has strongly condemned the targeted killing of six journalists in Palestine by an Israeli drone on 10 August.
“I condemn the killing of journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammed Al-Khaldi and call for a thorough and transparent investigation,” UNESCO’s Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Five of the six worked for the influential Qatari-based media organization, Al Jazeera: Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh were on air correspondents, while Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa worked as camera operators. Mohammed Al-Khaldi was a freelance photojournalist.
They were reportedly killed by an Israeli attack on a tent used by media personnel at the entrance of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Blatant, premeditated attack
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) alleged that 28-year-old correspondent Anas al-Sharif was a serving Hamas operative. Al Jazeera strongly denies this, describing the attack as an “assassination” and “yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom.”
The UN Human Rights Council-appointed independent expert on freedom of expression issued a statement on 31 July denouncing an Israeli military spokesperson’s “repeated threats” and “unfounded accusations” against Mr. Anas Al-Sharif, flagging it as “a blatant attempt to endanger his life and silence his reporting” in Gaza.
Condemning the attack in the strongest possible terms on Tuesday, two special rapporteurs described the killings as “an attempt to silence reporting on the ongoing genocide and starvation campaign” in Gaza.
“It is outrageous that the Israeli army dares to first launch a campaign to smear Anas Al-Sharif as Hamas in order to discredit his reporting and then kill him and his colleagues for speaking the truth to the world,” the experts said, demanding an immediate investigation into the killings and full access to international media, which Israel currently bars from entering Gaza.
Special Rapporteurs and other independent experts are appointed by and report regularly to the Human Rights Council. They work in their individual capacity, are not UN staff and receive no payment for their work.
Violation of international law
UNESCO chief Ms. Azoulay stressed that targeting journalists reporting on conflicts is unacceptable and violates international law.
She also reiterated her call to respect UN Security Council Resolution 2222, which was unanimously adopted in 2015 to protect journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in conflict situations.
Since October 2023, UNESCO has reported at least 62 journalists and media workers killed in the line of duty in Palestine, excluding deaths in circumstances unrelated to their work, while OHCHR reports that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the same time frame.
Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qraiqea were killed Sunday, along with three other Al Jazeera journalists, in an Israeli strike targeting a journalists’ tent near the Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City, according to the Gaza Media Office.
The Qatar-based channel quoted the director of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza who said, “Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohamed Qraiqea were martyred in an Israeli strike on their tent,” without providing details.
The channel later confirmed that al-Sharif and Qraiqea were killed in an Israeli strike.
Al Jazeera Media Network early Monday condemned the “planned” assassination of its correspondents and cameramen in the Gaza Strip, calling it “a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza.”
“The order to kill Anas al-Sharif, one of Gaza’s bravest journalists, and his colleagues is a desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza,” it said.
Al Jazeera’s statement noted that “many Israeli army officials repeatedly incited and called for targeting Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues,” as it held “the occupation army and its government responsible for targeting and assassinating its team.”
The statement added that “the assassination of our correspondents by the Israeli occupation forces is another blatant and deliberate attack on press freedom.”
The Gaza Media Office announced in a statement that the number of journalists killed since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to 237, following the killing of al-Sharif and Qraiqea, along with three other journalists.
It identified the other journalists killed as photojournalists Ibrahim Dahir and Moumin Alaywa and an assistant photojournalist Mohammed Noufal.
“The assassination was carried out with premeditation and deliberation, through a deliberate, intentional, and direct targeting of the journalists’ tent in the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. This heinous crime also resulted in the injury of several other fellow journalists,” it added
The Director of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, told Anadolu that the deaths from the strike on the tent in front of the complex’s gate have risen to seven, including five journalists.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army admitted in a statement to killing al-Sharif in Gaza City, while ignoring the killing of Qraiqea and the three other journalists in the same strike.
In his will that was written Aug. 6, which he requested be published after his death, al-Sharif wrote: “This is my will, and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.”
“Allah knows that I gave all the effort and strength I had to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that God would prolong my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original hometown of occupied Asqalan (al-Majdal), but God’s will came first, and His decree is carried out,” he said.
“I have lived pain in all its forms, and tasted grief and loss many times. Yet I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification, hoping that Allah would bear witness against those who remained silent, those who accepted our killing, those who suffocated our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered bodies of our children and women, and who did not stop the massacre our people have been subjected to for more than a year and a half.
“I urge you to hold fast to Palestine, the jewel in the crown of Muslims, and the heartbeat of every free person in this world.
“I urge you to care for its people, for its wronged little children who were not given enough time in life to dream or to live in safety and peace, whose pure bodies were crushed beneath thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls.
“I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders hold you back. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our usurped homeland.
“I urge you to care for my family. Take care of the apple of my eye, my beloved daughter Sham, whom the days did not allow me to watch grow up as I had dreamed as reported by Anadolu.
“And care for my dear son Salah, whom I had hoped to support and walk beside until he grew strong enough to carry my burdens and continue the mission.
“I urge you to care for my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers carried me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah will comfort her heart and reward her abundantly on my behalf.
“Also take care for my life partner, my beloved wife, Umm Salah, Bayan, from whom the war separated me for long days and months, yet she remained true to our bond, steadfast like the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend, patient and trusting in Allah, carrying the responsibility in my absence with all strength and faith.
“I urge you to stand by them and be their support after Allah Almighty. If I die, then I die steadfast in my principles, and I bear witness before Allah that I am content with His decree, faithful in meeting Him, and certain that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.
“O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive me my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me to receive mercy, for I have remained true to the covenant, never changing or wavering.
“Do not forget Gaza … And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance,” he wrote..
Israel is facing mounting condemnation for its genocidal war on Gaza, where it has killed more than 61,000 victims since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the verge of famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom strongly condemned Israel’s decision to occupy the Gaza City.
They warned that the move would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian crisis, endanger the lives of hostages, and increase the risk of mass civilian displacement.
The statement emphasized that any attempts at annexation or settlement expansion would constitute a violation of international law.
The ministers called for the immediate release of all captives by Hamas and urged Israel to take concrete steps to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need.
CrossFireArabia
