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- Committee to Protect Journalists denounces attack on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital courtyard
LONDON: Three journalists were killed and four others injured in an Israeli strike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital鈥檚 courtyard in central Gaza, drawing condemnations from media rights groups.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said the attack struck a media tent and identified the victims as Ismail Badah, a cameraman for Palestine Today TV channel, which is affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group; Soliman Hajaj, a Palestine Today editor; and Samir A-Refai of the Shams News network.
The strike injured 30 others, including four journalists. Among them were Imad Daloul, a correspondent for Palestine Today, and Ahmed Qalja, a cameraman for Qatar-based Al-Araby TV, both are reported to be in critical condition.
The syndicate accused Israel of 鈥渁 full-fledged war crime鈥� that 鈥渞eflects a deliberate and systematic policy aimed at silencing the Palestinian narrative.鈥� It said that targeting journalists 鈥渨ithin the grounds of a hospital constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.鈥�
The Israeli military said in a statement that the strike targeted 鈥渁n Islamic Jihad terrorist who was operating in a command-and-control center鈥� in the hospital鈥檚 yard, without providing details or evidence.
In a statement on Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the attack, calling for international action to stop Israel from targeting journalists 鈥渂ased on unsubstantiated terrorism claims.鈥�
CPJ regional director Sara Qudah said: 鈥淭hese are not isolated incidents, but systematic attacks by Israel on the media. This disturbing and deliberate pattern must end.
鈥淭he killing of journalists in a hospital courtyard on the holy day of Yawm Al-Arafah 鈥� preceding Eid Al-Adha 鈥� underscores the relentless dangers facing the media in Gaza.鈥�