GAZA: Palestinian journalist Moataz Raja was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike while reporting on the conflict in Gaza, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday.
Raja’s death came amid a surge in Israeli attacks that killed at least 55 people in the past 24 hours.
The Gaza Journalists Syndicate said Raja was killed instantly when an Israeli aircraft targeted the civilian vehicle he was traveling in on al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City. Since October 7, 2023, the syndicate has documented the deaths of at least 221 journalists in Gaza.
In the latest wave of violence, at least 23 people died in airstrikes in the central Gaza area of Bureij. Another 10 Palestinians lost their lives while seeking aid from a US-backed organisation, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Medical teams spent more than 30 minutes retrieving victims from the attack sites before transporting them to Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa hospitals.
The Government Media Office said Israeli forces opened fire directly on Palestinian civilians waiting to receive humanitarian aid, injuring at least 62 people.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, accused Israel of using aid as a weapon of war.
Since a ceasefire collapsed on March 18, Gaza’s health ministry reports that at least 3,785 people have died in the territory, raising the overall death toll in the conflict to 53,939, mostly civilians, according to AFP.
The ongoing conflict has displaced nearly 90% of Gaza’s population of about two million people, created a severe hunger crisis, and caused widespread destruction.
Since October 2023, Israeli military operations have killed at least 61,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, Al Jazeera reported.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice related to its conduct in Gaza.
