Three journalists were killed in the Gaza strip Tuesday by Israeli fire, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported.
Two cameramen working for al-Aqsa TV were killed in their car not far from Gaza City’s Shifa hospital around 6 p.m. Tuesday evening. Their car was reportedly marked with neon letters spelling “TV,” Reuters reported.
An educational programming director for the al-Quds channel, who was identified in early reports as Mohamed Abu Aisha, director of the private Al-Quds’ Educational Radio, was also killed in his car in central Gaza, the Associated Press reported.
Israel acknowledged the killing of the three journalists, claiming they had ties to Hamas, according to the AP.
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When asked by the AP “whether Israel had widened it range of targets to include journalists working for media run by Hamas or other militant groups,” Israeli military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich said: “The targets are people who have relevance to terror activity.”
“The Israeli aggressors want to cut the picture and silence the voice of the brave people of Gaza,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told a news conference, according to Reuters. “Journalism in Gaza plays a major, effective role in exposing the enemy’s crimes to the world.”
“We’re alarmed by the mounting toll on journalists in Gaza,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. “Israeli airstrikes continue to put journalists in harm’s way. This reflects the risks journalists face while reporting on conflict, especially in such a densely populated area.”
GlobalPost correspondent in Gaza Erin Cunningham tweets:
Israel may be letting journalists cover the war in #Gaza, but that doesn’t mean they won’t target us.
Erin Cunningham@erinmcunninghamThis story was originally published by Global Post.