RAMALLAH, June 5, 2025 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has condemned what it described as Israel’s continued systematic targeting of journalists, following a deadly strike on a group of reporters in Gaza that left four dead and several others injured.
In a statement, the union said that the ongoing Israeli aggression has so far claimed the lives of 225 journalists and media workers, including 30 female journalists. The latest incident, referred to as the Al-Maamadani Hospital massacre, killed three journalists — Ismail Bdaih, Suleiman Hajjaj, and Samir Al-Rifai — and wounded four others: Ahmad Qalja, Imad Daloul, Imam Badr, and Mahmoud Al-Ghazi.
The syndicate reported that a total of 225 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli forces. Among the victims was Ibrahim Mahameed, the only journalist killed in the West Bank, who was martyred in February 2024.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has accused Israel of continuing a policy of enforced disappearance against Palestinian journalists, citing the ongoing lack of information regarding the fate of two missing reporters — Nidal Al-Wahidi and Haitham Abdul-Wahed — whose cases the union described as “clear instances of enforced disappearance in violation of international law.”
It said that Israel refused to disclose any details about the journalists' whereabouts, in what it called a "blatant breach" of international humanitarian law and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which entered into force in 2010.
As part of what it described as a broader war on journalism and an attempt to suppress the truth, the syndicate said Israeli airstrikes and tank shelling have destroyed 115 media institutions in the Gaza Strip, including news agencies, radio and TV stations, and press offices.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli forces have reportedly shut down five media organizations and destroyed or closed 12 printing presses.
The union reaffirmed its commitment to working with international human rights and press freedom organizations to pursue accountability and to seek protection for journalists operating under occupation.
It warned that the scale of the attacks constituted “the largest massacre against journalists in modern history.”
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