24/6/2026 – Union for Justice Foundation
The Union for Justice Foundation stated that the killing of journalist Ahmed Samir Washah, a cameraman for Al Jazeera Mubasher, by Israeli occupation forces several days ago in Al-Bureij Refugee Camp in central Gaza Strip, has raised the number of martyred journalists since the beginning of the current year to eight.
The Foundation noted that since the beginning of the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the occupation has killed 266 journalists, a figure described as the deadliest and most dangerous toll for journalists in contemporary conflicts and wars.
The Foundation stressed that the occupation views the Palestinian journalist as a target that must be silenced—at times through killing and at other times through imprisonment and arrest. It emphasized that the occupation pursues a systematic policy of repression against journalists in order to intimidate them, silence their voices, prevent them from conveying the truth, and obstruct their documentation of occupation violations.
The Foundation continued: “On 11 January of this year, an Israeli reconnaissance drone struck a vehicle in the city of Al-Zahraa in central Gaza Strip carrying three journalists—Abdul Raouf Shaat, Mohammed Salah Qishta, and Anas Ghuneim—while they were carrying out a humanitarian journalistic mission to document the suffering of civilians in one of the displacement camps administered by the Egyptian Committee for Gaza Relief.”
Shaat works as a freelance photojournalist with a number of local and international media outlets, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), CBS Network, and Al Jazeera. Qishta worked as a journalist and official spokesperson for the Egyptian Committee for Gaza Relief and regularly published news through his Telegram news channel. Ghuneim worked as a freelance photojournalist for several media organizations, including Smart Media.
The Foundation added: “On 3 March, Israeli aircraft bombed tents sheltering displaced persons in the Al-Sawarha area of central Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of journalist Amal Al-Shamali, who worked as a correspondent for Qatar Radio.”
On the twenty-eighth of the same month, Marwan Fathi Harzallah, a 54-year-old journalist working for Palestine TV from the city of Nablus, died in Megiddo Prison after his health condition deteriorated as a result of medical neglect. Harzallah remained detained on allegations the occupation described as “incitement.”
The Union for Justice Foundation further stated: “On 8 April, an Israeli reconnaissance drone assassinated journalist Mohammed Samir Washah, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher, after targeting his vehicle while it was passing along Al-Rashid Street near the Al-Nabulsi Junction in Gaza City.”
On the eleventh of the same month, Israeli occupation forces killed journalist Mohammed Fouad Al-Sayyid (41 years old), a producer and cameraman for Al-Aqsa TV, in an airstrike that targeted a gathering of civilians in Al-Bureij Refugee Camp in central Gaza Strip.
Imprisonment: The Price of Reporting the Truth
In the West Bank, Palestinian journalists operate under difficult conditions amid constant surveillance and pursuit by the occupation authorities, which monitor journalists’ every move. The occupation has turned accusations of “incitement” or even possession of a camera drone used for journalistic purposes into ready-made charges warranting arrest and imprisonment.
Dozens of journalists have been arrested and assaulted while covering violations committed by the occupation and settlers. For example, on 17 March, occupation forces assaulted five journalists in Jerusalem while they were covering events, including a correspondent for CNN, who suffered a broken arm, as well as the head of the Xinhua News Agency bureau and a photographer working for Anadolu Agency.
Israeli military checkpoints spread throughout the West Bank have become sites of arrest and detention for journalists. On 6 February, occupation forces arrested journalist Bushra Al-Taweel (32 years old) and journalist Hatem Hamdan (26 years old), who works with Al Jazeera Mubasher, while they were passing through the Ein Siniya military checkpoint established on Palestinian-owned land north of Ramallah. The occupation also arrested journalist Nawal Hijazi at the Shuafat Refugee Camp military checkpoint northeast of occupied Jerusalem.
Like many other Palestinians, journalists are frequently arrested following late-night raids on their homes. For example, on 18 January, occupation forces arrested journalist Farouq Omar Qasem Aliyat after raiding and searching his home in the town of Deir Abu Daif, east of Jenin.
On 10 February, Israeli soldiers arrested journalist Mohammed Radwan Abu Thabet after storming his home in the town of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus. On the twentieth of the same month, occupation forces arrested journalist Homam Ateili after raiding his home in the town of Attil in the Tulkarm district.
On 25 March, occupation forces raided the home of journalist Aysar Al-Barghouthi in the village of Kafr Ein, northwest of Ramallah, arrested him, and several days later placed him under arbitrary administrative detention. On 3 April, Israeli occupation soldiers arrested photojournalist Tareq Ghaleb Sbeihat after raiding his home in the town of Rummanah, west of Jenin, on the pretext that he used a drone in his journalistic work.
Jerusalem Journalists: A Particular Hardship
Journalists from Jerusalem are subjected to additional hardships, as occupation authorities frequently prevent journalists from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque and covering events in the holy city.
During recent months, occupation authorities informed journalist Mohammed Al-Sadiq of a six-month ban from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque. Photojournalist Ibrahim Al-Sinjilawi, journalist Firas Al-Dibs, and journalist Saif Al-Qawasmi were also banned from entering the mosque for one week, renewable upon expiration.
On the seventh of the current month, an Israeli court sentenced Jerusalem-based journalist Bayan Al-Jaaba to 20 months of actual imprisonment, in addition to six months of suspended imprisonment for a period of three years, and imposed a fine of 5,000 shekels.
On 11 June, occupation authorities prevented Alice Frossard, the French correspondent of Radio France Internationale (RFI), from entering the occupied Palestinian territory and deported her to Paris because of her criticism of the genocidal war against the Gaza Strip.
At the beginning of the current year, Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz issued a military order classifying five Jerusalem-based digital media platforms as “terrorist organizations” under the so-called Counter-Terrorism Law of 2016. These platforms are: Al-Asima Network, Miraj Platform, Al-Quds Al-Bousala, Maydan, and Quds Plus.
The Union for Justice Foundation calls upon the occupation authorities to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2222, unanimously adopted in 2015 concerning the protection of journalists, media professionals, and associated personnel as civilians in situations of armed conflict, a commitment that was reaffirmed in the United Nations Pact for the Future.
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