A strike near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis targeted Hamas terrorists, not journalists, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Monday, after Gaza officials said attacks killed at least 20.
"The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such," the military said in a statement carried by Reuters. "The IDF acts to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals as much as possible while maintaining the safety of IDF troops."
Gaza's Hamas-terrorist-run health ministry said five journalists were killed in the strike, among them Mariam Dagga, a freelancer for The Associated Press, and Mohammed Salam of Al Jazeera. Reuters confirmed its contractor cameraman Hussam al-Masri was killed and photographer Hatem Khaled was wounded.
The AP said it was "shocked and saddened" by Dagga's death.
Some unverified reports from the region claimed the journalists had been filing reports on alleged famine and starvation in Gaza, narratives pushed by Hamas and its sympathetic figures in the United Nations.
Israel maintains starvation in Gaza is Hamas propaganda and "the only ones starving in Gaza are the hostages," as U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee oft-repeats.
Also, Israel has long accused Hamas of using civilians and journalists as "human shields," thus helping the war enemy wage a battle front on propaganda to help rally the world against it in its war to root out terrorism on its borders after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently told an exclusive Newsmax event that the fight against misinformation was part of Israel's broader struggle on an "eighth-front war."
"Thank you, Newsmax, for helping us on the eighth-front war: seven fronts against Iran and its proxies, the eighth front — the battle for truth," Netanyahu said. "There's only one way to beat the lies, and that’s with the truth."
The Gaza war has become the deadliest conflict for media workers in modern history, with at least 192 journalists killed since it began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Israel has barred international media from entering the Strip, leaving local Palestinian reporters to cover the war, even as many face the same starvation and displacement as the communities around them.
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used to compile this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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