Another Palestinian Journalist Killed in Israeli Strike on Gaza; Death Toll Soars to 250

Local authorities in the Gaza Strip say a Palestinian photojournalist has been killed in an Israeli offensive on the coastal sliver, in the latest attack on reporters in the besieged territory since the occupying Tel Aviv regime launched its all-out war there.

The officials said Osama Ahmed Balousha lost his life in the strike that targeted his family home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City early on Monday.

The new fatality brought the death toll of journalists in Gaza since October 2023 to 250.

On August 25, five journalists were killed in an Israeli strike on the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza.

Among the victims were Al Jazeera photographer Mohammad Salama, Reuters photojournalist Hussam al-Masri, Mariam Abu Daqqa, who reported for several outlets including The Independent Arabic and the Associated Press, and journalist Moaz Abu Taha.

The Gaza Ministry of Health said at the time that the victims were killed on the hospital’s fourth floor in a “double-tap strike” – one missile hitting first, followed moments later by a second as rescue crews rushed to the scene.

Earlier last month, an Israeli air strike killed six journalists, among them Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif. The journalists were sheltering in a tent reserved for media personnel outside Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital. Reports said that the Israeli strike was aimed specifically at al-Sharif.

As Israel continues to block foreign journalists from entering Gaza, Palestinian reporters remain the only direct sources of reporting from inside the conflict zone.

The Federation of News Agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has also voiced its profound concern regarding the ongoing assassinations of Palestinian journalists by Israeli forces.

The federation underscored that the events occurring in Gaza represent a blatant infringement of international laws and standards, occurring alongside Israeli transgressions against press and media freedom, as well as its strategy of suppressing the truth, silencing dissent, obscuring its daily violations, and obstructing their dissemination to the global public.

The Israeli regime has killed at least 64,455 Palestinians, mainly women and children, in Gaza since October 7, 2023.