Videos and eyewitness accounts indicate that the group of reporters were isolated and identifiable when an Israeli tank opened fire.
This statement was originally published on rsf.org on 19 August 2024.
Freelance reporter Ibrahim Muhareb was killed and his colleague Salma al-Qaddoumi was wounded when an Israeli tank deliberately fired on a group of identifiable journalists, according to witnesses and video footage. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the targeting of media personnel and reiterates its urgent call for journalists in Gaza to be protected.
Ibrahim Muhareb and Salma al-Qaddoumi were part of a group of journalists who went to Khan Yunis in the centre of the Gaza Strip on 18 August to cover an Israeli withdrawal. At around 7 p.m., an Israeli tank opened fire on the group, hitting two of them, according to the information obtained by RSF. Al-Qaddoumi managed to escape, despite sustaining an injury to her back, and survived. But Muhareb was felled by the tank’s fire and could not be evacuated because the gunfire continued. Colleagues found his dead body the next morning.
Video filmed by photojournalist Ezzedine Muasher and posted on his Instagram account shows a tank approaching at the end of a street opposite the group. The tank then opened fire, as Muasher and a group of fellow journalists – all wearing vests bearing the word “PRESS” – began running for cover. In the video, Muasher asks where Muhareb is. “It’s a miracle we survived,” he says.
“Ibrahim Muhareb is the latest journalist to be killed for trying to do their job in Gaza. Videos and eyewitness accounts indicate that the group of reporters he was with was isolated and identifiable when an Israeli tank opened fire, which shows that he was targeted. We condemn the repeated attacks against journalists by the Israeli army. The international community must put pressure on Israel to stop this carnage. Ending impunity for these crimes is also essential. We will file a new complaint with the International Criminal Court for war crimes against journalists.”
Jonathan Dagher, Head of RSF’s Middle East desk
Aged 26, Muhareb was a Gaza-based freelancer working for the Palestinian news website PDN. In a statement, PDN’s editors said he had been targeted while on the job. Al-Qaddoumi is a freelance photojournalist who, according to RSF’s information, was working for international news agencies including Agence France-Presse.
The Israeli Defense Forces have killed more than 130 journalists in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, including at least 30 in the course of their work, while dozens of others have been injured or evacuated. The besieged enclave continues to be closed to international media, despite RSF’s repeated calls for its borders to be opened to journalists wishing to leave or enter.
RSF has filed three complaints with the International Criminal Court accusing Israeli forces of committing war crimes against journalists since 7 October 2023. The ICC prosecutor’s office has said that crimes against journalists in Gaza are being included in its investigation.
