Israel forces kill Al Jazeera journalist in targeted drone strike

Gaza City: A journalist working with Al Jazeera, which has been extensively covering the war in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike, the enclave’s civil defence rescue agency said. The deceased journalist, identified as Hussam Shabat, was targeted via a drone strike on his car on Monday afternoon in the northern town of Beit Lahia, Agence France-Presse reported.

It has been seven days since Israel renewed its air and ground offensive in the war-torn territory, breaching a ceasefire deal, as its demands to Hamas were not met. It had rained fire on the densely populated Gaza Strip last Tuesday.

According to the Gaza Civil Defence Agency, Israel targets more than 10 cars, including Shabat's, in separate areas in Gaza on Monday.

Footage from the site where the journalist was killed in Beit Lahia showed Palestinians gathering around the attacked car, which bears an Al Jazeera sticker on its windscreen. The car’s rear window seemed severely damaged while a body was seen on the ground next to it.

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists says that Israel accused Shabat and five other Palestinian journalists of being militants, but Shabat denied it.

Palestinian Journalists Syndicate called the deaths of the journalists a crime added to the record of Israeli terrorism.

As per records, 206 journalists and media workers have been killed so far since the war in Gaza started on October 7, 2023.

In its latest update, the ministry in Hamas-run Gaza informed on Monday that 730 people had been killed since Israel restarted its offensive in the enclave on March 18. This includes 57 people who were killed in the last 24 hours.