By Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle 
The International Federation of Journalists and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate have condemned the killings and “continued attacks” on journalists.
One Palestinian journalist has been killed and another injured after Israeli forces targeted a group of journalists in the Hamad area west of Khan Yunis in the besieged Gaza Strip.
According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), Ibrahim Muhareb, 26, was killed as a result of gunfire and shells fired from Israeli tanks that targeted journalists on Sunday night.
The official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, reported that tanks targeted a group of journalists who were on their way to Hamad City, north of Khan Yunis, where Israeli forces had launched a ground invasion.
Following the attack, communication with Muharab was cut off. Ambulance crews discovered his body on Monday morning, WAFA said.
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Another journalist Salma Al-Qaddoumi was injured in the attack with shrapnel in her back, and transferred to hospital.
Muhareb worked as a freelance journalist for several press institutions and was a member of the PJS. He was the 169th journalist to be killed in Gaza by the Israeli military, since October 7.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the PJS have condemned the killings and “continued attacks” on journalists.
The IFJ has called for “an immediate investigation into their deaths.”
Journalists Detained
More than 94 Palestinian journalists have also been arrested since October 7, with 53 still in detention, including 19 from the Gaza Strip, the PJS along with the Al-Dammer Association for Human Rights in Gaza, and the Independent Commission for Human Rights, announced in a joint press briefing last week.
They said the latter were “subjected to enforced disappearance, with no information available about them from any official sources.”
Killings of Palestinian Journalists Continue – Aided by Uninterrupted Flow of US Arms
Tahseen Al-Astal, Deputy Chairman of the Journalists’ Syndicate in Gaza, called on human rights groups to work together to pressure international institutions to investigate the crimes committed against journalists.
He “confirmed that the Syndicate is proceeding with its actions before the International Court to pursue the killers of journalists among the occupation’s leaders,” the PSJ said in a report on its website.
Alaa Al-Saqafi, Director of Al-Dameer said the large number of killed and detained journalists, along with the targeting of their families, reflects a deliberate and systematic policy by the occupation government, with instructions from both the political and military levels, the report added.
The body of journalist Ibrahim Muharab was found near Hamad City, northwest of Khan Yunis. Muharab went missing after Israeli forces targeted a group of journalists on Sunday.
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Arms Embargo Demanded
A group of more than 100 journalists, news outlets and press freedom organizations have urged the US government to “immediately cease” the transfer of all weapons to Israel.
“Israel’s military actions are not possible without U.S. weapons, U.S. military aid, and U.S. diplomatic support. By providing the weapons being used to deliberately kill journalists, you are complicit in one of the gravest affronts to press freedom today,” the group said in a letter addressed to US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
The letter was signed by 113 journalists including Chris Hedges and Abby Martin, 20 news outlets including CounterPunch and Mondoweiss, and seven press freedom organizations including Courage Foundation, FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting) and Freedom of the Press Foundation.
(PC, WAFA)
– Nurah Tape is a South Africa-based journalist. She is an editor with The Palestine Chronicle.
