A funeral was held in the Gaza Strip Friday for Palestinian journalist Mohammad Abu Hatab, whose network said he was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Dozens of journalists have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war as of Friday, the majority of them Palestinians.
Hatab, a correspondent for Palestine TV, was laid to rest in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. Several journalists including the deputy head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Tahseen Al-Astal, participated in the funeral. Astal called for international protection for journalists covering the war, the Palestinian Authority’s WAFA news agency reported.
Palestine TV is a broadcaster also run by the PA.
Palestinian journalists bid a final farewell to their colleague, Mohammad Abu Hattab, murdered yesterday in an Israeli airstrike which targeted his home in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.#GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/J3g5VAShnG
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 3, 2023
Palestine TV reported on Thursday that Hatab and members of his family were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit his home in the city. At least 11 people were killed in the strike, medical sources at the nearby Nasser Hospital told Agence France-Presse.
Hatab’s colleagues reacted emotionally to his death on air.
Palestine TV journalist Mohammad Abu Hattab was killed with his family in an Israeli airstrike. His colleague Salman Al-Bashir removes his protective gear marked PRESS on air saying: “We can’t take it anymore, we are exhausted. We are victims. The only difference between us is… pic.twitter.com/66gfbIpCWW
— Ambassador Majed Bamya 🇵🇸 (@majedbamya) November 2, 2023
Israel has not commented on Hatab’s death.
Why it matters: The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Friday that at least 36 journalists have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas, counting 31 Palestinians, four Israelis and one Lebanese. The Palestinian journalists were mostly killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, while the Israelis were killed by Hamas during its Oct. 7 assault in southern Israel. Lebanese journalist Issam Abdallah was killed in southern Lebanon on Oct. 13 by shelling coming from the direction of Israel, according to the organization’s preliminary investigation.
Journalists working in Gaza are especially at risk due to Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications and power outages, according to the committee. The Israel Defense Forces told Reuters and AFP last week that it cannot guarantee the safety of their journalists.
Nearly 80% of killers of journalists go unprosecuted worldwide, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Thursday. Syria has the worst record of all on impunity.
Know more: The overall death toll in Gaza continues to rise amid Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in the enclave said on Friday that 9,257 Palestinians, including 3,826 children and 2,405 women, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since the war began.
More than 1,538 people in Israel have been killed so far in the war, mostly by Hamas during its incursion into southern Israel, according to Israeli authorities. More than 200 people are being held by Hamas in Gaza.
