Israel killed Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami Al-Rifi in an airstrike, Wednesday evening, while covering people’s reactions around the destroyed home of the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who was martyred by an Israeli missile strike where he was staying in Tehran earlier that day.
Israeli warplanes bombed the roof of a house adjacent to the destroyed home of the late martyred leader in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza with a number of other journalists. They were forced to withdraw quickly but an Israeli warplane directly targeted their car, instantly killing journalist al-Ghoul and his cameraman al-Rifi.
Earlier in the day, al-Ghoul appeared on Al Jazeera to report on people’s reactions to the assassination of political bureau chief Haniyeh.
Al Jazeera Journalist Anas al-Sharif confirmed an Israeli warplane directly bombed al-Ghoul and Al Jazeera cameraman Al-Rifi, which led to the severing of their heads according to the Palestine Information Center.
The Palestinian Journalists Protection Center (PJPC) condemned the killing of journalists Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi during their coverage of the bombing of the house of the late Hamas leader and which was reduced to rubble.
Al-Ghoul worked as a correspondent for the Al Jazeera News Channel in Gaza City, and al-Rifi worked as a photojournalist for the same satellite station for months during the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
The PJPC condemned the murder of these journalists, stressing the need for urgent and immediate international intervention to stop the unprecedented Israeli targeting of media professionals in the Gaza Strip.
It stated the continued international silence on these massacres gives the Israeli army the green light to kill more Palestinian journalists. Since 7 October at least about 165 journalists were killed through Israeli fire according to the Gaza Government Media Office.
Al-Ghoul was previously arrested by the Israeli occupation forces during its second storming al-Shifa Medical Complex last March in which it completely destroyed the hospital.