Three Palestinian photojournalists killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza

Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 11 Palestinians, among them three freelance photojournalists who were documenting life in displacement camps, Gaza health officials and press groups said. The Gaza Ministry of Health reported six others were wounded, and officials identified the three journalists as Mohammad Salah Qashta, Anas Ghneim and Abdul Raouf Shaat.

The journalists were working with the Egyptian Committee for Gaza Relief, which supervises Egyptian government relief operations in the territory, and were filming a newly established displacement camp in the Netzarim corridor when their vehicle was hit. Colleagues and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said the team was “documenting the suffering of civilians in displacement camps.” Committee officials said the vehicle was clearly marked with the committee’s logo and was known to Israeli forces; a committee spokesman said the team was filming a new displacement camp in the Netzarim area. Another committee official, Mahmoud Jamal, said the journalists “posed no threat.”

The strike struck a vehicle in central Gaza’s al‑Zahra area near the Netzarim corridor, about five kilometres from Israeli-controlled territory, witnesses and local footage showed. Video that circulated after the attack depicted a burned-out vehicle by the roadside and emergency responders at the scene.

The Israeli military said it had targeted “several suspects who operated a drone affiliated with Hamas in a manner that posed a threat” and that the vehicle was struck because it had been used to operate a drone, citing an internal security source. The military said the incident was under examination.

The three journalists’ deaths were part of a wider pattern of lethal strikes across Gaza that day. Hospital and media sources reported other fatalities in separate attacks, including members of a single family in eastern Deir el‑Balah and people struck near the Bureij refugee camp, where reports said a 13‑year‑old boy, his father and a 22‑year‑old man were killed. The Gaza health ministry’s consolidated toll for the day was “at least 11,” which includes the three journalists and at least two children.

The killing of Shaat, who had contributed photo and video material to international agencies, and the deaths of Qashta and Ghneim deepen concerns among press and humanitarian groups about the safety of media workers and relief teams operating in the enclave. The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented more than 200 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza since the wider war began, underscoring the scale of risk for those covering the conflict.

The strike is likely to escalate diplomatic and humanitarian tensions. The Egyptian Committee for Gaza Relief said the team was on a humanitarian assignment supervised by Egyptian authorities; Egypt has played a central role in coordinating cross‑border and maritime relief. Egyptian officials and humanitarian operators will be watching investigations closely as they weigh continuing operations that require coordination with Israeli forces to reach civilians.

Investigations into the attack are under way, with the Israeli military saying it is reviewing the circumstances that led to the strike. Gaza authorities and relief officials have called the attack unjustified and said the journalists were clearly engaged in documenting civilian suffering. The competing accounts set the stage for an inquiry whose findings could affect ceasefire scrutiny, humanitarian access protocols and protections for journalists in active conflict zones.