On 10 August, the Israeli military carried out a targeted strike — using a suicide drone — on journalists inside the Al Jazeera tent next to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
The attack came after the Israeli military made repeated threats against Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammad Qreiqeh, who were killed alongside two colleagues, Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammad Noufal, both camera operators.
Three other people who were present were also killed, freelance journalists Mohammad al-Khaldi, Mo’men Aliawa and Saad Jundiya, a civilian who happened to be present.
Saeed Hasballah, 27, a freelance cameraman with Al Jazeera, said he had been inside the Al Jazeera tent just twenty minutes before the strike, discussing the ongoing genocide.
“It was the first time Anas and Mohammad Qreiqeh were present together at the same time. They usually alternated shifts and shared work hours to ensure the truth reached the world,” Hasballah told The Electronic Intifada.
Wadi Abu al-Soud, 32, a reporter with Yemen TV, was in his own tent, just 30 meters away from the Al Jazeera tent, when it was bombed. All day, he said, Israeli warplanes had been flying extremely low and eastern Gaza had suffered relentless bombardment.
“The aircraft were so close that journalists began telling each other the night would be hard, and they started praying for one another,” al-Soud said.
Both al-Soud and Hasballah said they were startled by the deafening blast at around 11:30 pm.
“The strike directly hit Anas — he died instantly,” al-Soud said. “Mohammad Qreiqeh was critically wounded. I went to save him, but he passed away within moments.”
“This was a direct targeting of the journalists inside the Al Jazeera tent,” Hasballah said. (more...)
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