Israel kills 265 journalists, including around 27 women, and detains over 34 during 1,000 days of fighting
Israeli bombing on Gaza, Palestine left devastating effects on city life, forcing families to live in tents next to ruins. Photo: AA/file
Carrying a camera or documenting the testimony of a survivor in the Gaza Strip during 1,000 days of Israeli genocide has never been an ordinary journalistic task; it became a daily gamble between an airstrike that could target a reporting site, a home collapsing over family members, or a displacement tent turning into an alternative newsroom.
Since Israel launched its genocidal offensive on the Gaza Strip on October 8, 2023, Palestinian journalists have found themselves at the centre of a conflict that has not spared them, as Israeli attacks reached them during fieldwork, destroyed their homes and media institutions, and forced hundreds of them into repeated displacement.
Despite the ceasefire agreement that entered into force on October 10 this year, Israel has continued violating it through ongoing attacks and assaults.
According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Israel killed 265 journalists, including around 27 women, wounded nearly 500 others and detained more than 34 during the 1,000 days of bombardment on Gaza.
The loss, however, is not limited to those killed.
Tahseen al-Astal, deputy head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, told Anadolu that between 60% and 75% of living journalists in Gaza have lost their homes or been forcibly displaced, forcing them to work from tents, sidewalks or shelters with mobile phones and unstable internet.
“Journalists in Gaza are subjected to unprecedented targeting that has affected their lives, workplaces and homes, in the context of a conflict that did not stop at silencing the voice, but sought to uproot its entire environment,” al-Astal said.
Destroyed work environment
Al-Astal said the presence of around 1,200 journalists in Gaza means that between 700 and 900 have lost their homes or been forcibly displaced since the start of the conflict.
He said syndicate estimates indicate that more than 80% of media offices and institutions were fully or partially destroyed, leading to the near-total collapse of the infrastructure necessary for journalistic work.
He explained that journalists in Gaza no longer work from newsrooms, but from tents, sidewalks or corners in shelters, while mobile phones have become the main production tool and unstable internet now dictates the pace of publication.
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Amid electricity cuts, fuel shortages and the destruction of roads and buildings, public spaces, areas surrounding hospitals and shelters have become emergency alternatives to media offices, while journalists continue to report bombardment, displacement and hunger from areas that offer no or minimum protection.
Bloody milestones
According to Anadolu monitoring, Israeli assassinations of the most prominent journalists in Gaza were as follows:
August 25, 2025: 5 journalists, including Mariam Abu Daqqa
On August 25, 2025, Israel launched airstrikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing journalists Mariam Abu Daqqa, Hossam al-Masri, Mohammad Salama, Muath Abu Taha and Ahmad Abu Aziz while they were carrying out their work.
Mariam Abu Daqqa, the Palestinian journalist killed by Israel during 1,000 days Gaza genocide. Photo: Handout via Reuters
Mariam Abu Daqqa, a Palestinian journalist from Khan Younis, marked her life with exceptional sacrifices, having donated one of her kidneys to save her father from illness and sent her only child outside Gaza to keep him safe from the genocide carried out by Israel.
August 10, 2025: 6 journalists, including al-Sharif and Quraiqa
On August 10, 2025, Israel killed six journalists, including Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammad Quraiqa, in an airstrike targeting a tent where they were staying near Al-Shifa Hospital west of Gaza City.
The name of Anas al-Sharif had become a constant presence in international news bulletins over two years of fighting, as one of the few field voices who broke the media siege and documented scenes of famine and massacres in Gaza.
Born on December 3, 1996, in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, al-Sharif grew up in an environment saturated by conflict, spending his childhood in the crowded alleys of the camp amid repeated crises and conflicts.
Quraiqa, born in 1992 in Shujaiya neighbourhood east of Gaza City, earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and media from the Islamic University of Gaza in 2014 and worked for several local media outlets before joining Al Jazeera during the conflict.
He grew up an orphan after losing his father in childhood and was deeply attached to his mother, who was killed by the Israeli army during its raid on Al-Shifa Hospital in March 2024, while her son Mohammad was detained.
June 2025: 4 journalists killed in one day
In June 2025, the Israeli army killed three Palestinian journalists in a single strike: Suleiman Hajjaj, correspondent and editor at Palestine Today TV; Ismail Badah, cameraman at the same channel; and Samir al-Rifai, editor at Shams News Agency.
On the same day, journalist Youssef al-Nakhala, who worked for Al-Wataniya Media Agency, died from wounds he sustained on May 31, 2025.
On January 10, 2025: Saed Abu Nabhan
On January 10, 2025, Saed Abu Nabhan, an Anadolu contributor, was killed by Israeli sniper fire while carrying out humanitarian and journalistic work in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
Anadolu’s Palestinian Countributor Saed Abu Nabhan was murdered by Israel’s Army through a long-range rifle attack. Photo AA/file
October 2024: Hassan Hamad
Photojournalist Hassan Hamad was killed in October 2024 in an Israeli bombardment in northern Gaza while working with several media outlets, including Anadolu.
His body arrived at Kamal Adwan Hospital torn into pieces, carrying only his press vest, and his brother Mohammad recognised him through his hair.
January 2024: Hamza al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya
In January 2024, journalist Hamza al-Dahdouh, born in 1996 and working for Al Jazeera, was killed alongside his colleague Mustafa Thuraya in an Israeli strike targeting a journalists’ vehicle west of Khan Younis.
Hamza held a bachelor’s degree in journalism and media from Al-Azhar University in Gaza and had lost his mother and siblings in an Israeli strike on a house sheltering the family in Nuseirat Camp in October 2023 before he himself was targeted during fieldwork.
December 15, 2023: Samer Abu Daqqa
Journalist and cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, born in 1978 and working for Al Jazeera, was killed on December 15, 2023, in Khan Younis after being left bleeding for six hours without rescue due to Israeli shelling.
Abu Daqqa was from Abasan al-Kabira near Khan Younis and was the father of three sons and a daughter living in Belgium, while he chose to remain in Gaza to continue his field reporting.
November 2023: Bilal Jadallah
Journalist Bilal Jadallah, born in 1978, was killed in November 2023 after a direct Israeli strike targeted his vehicle in Gaza City.
Jadallah served as chairman and general manager of Press House and contributed to founding Sawa News Agency.
Throughout his career, he signed Arab and international cooperation agreements to protect journalists, supervised training workshops, and made Press House a safe haven for media workers during wars by distributing protective equipment.
December 2023: Brothers Muntasir and Marwan al-Sawaf
Anadolu contributor since 2014, Muntasir al-Sawaf, born in 1990, was killed along with his journalist brother Marwan in an Israeli strike in southern Gaza in early December 2023.
Two weeks before his death, Muntasir survived an Israeli missile strike on his home that killed his parents and several siblings. He suffered injuries to his eye and nose but continued field work despite the destruction of hospitals and lack of treatment.
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Muntasir was married and the father of two children and studied journalism and media at Al-Aqsa University.
His brother Marwan, who was also married and had one child, studied information technology in Gaza City and worked for Alef Multimedia, a company specialising in documentary films.
The reality of journalists in Gaza reflects part of the broader suffering of Palestinians in the enclave, where hundreds of thousands continue to live in tents and temporary shelters after their homes were destroyed or damaged in Israel’s genocidal campaign, forcing repeated displacement into camps lacking the most basic necessities of life and services.
Since Israel launched its genocidal offensive on Gaza on Oct 8, 2023, nearly 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 173,000 injured, in addition to massive destruction affecting 90% of civilian infrastructure in the enclave.
