Israel launched airstrikes early on Thursday morning targeting a clearly marked press van carrying five journalists working with local media outside a hospital in central Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.
The journalists, affiliated with the Al-Quds Today channel, were covering events near al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp when an Israeli air raid struck their broadcasting van early in the morning.
Footage taken after the attack shows the white van engulfed in flames, with the word “Press” prominently displayed in large red letters across the back.
The five dead journalists have been identified as Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed al-Ladah, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, and Ayman al-Jadi.
Al-Jadi had gone to al-Awda Hospital with his wife, who was giving birth to their first child. While waiting for his wife, he decided to check in on his colleagues in the van, according to the Wafa news agency.
Israel’s military confirmed that it had carried out the strike, claiming it had targeted a vehicle carrying members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. However, it provided no evidence to support its claim, Middle East Eye reported.
Israeli forces have killed at least 141 journalists since the war began, according to the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Palestinian officials put the figure of journalists in Gaza killed by Israeli forces since October last year at 201.
The total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza is nearing 45,400, according to the Palestinian health ministry, most of whom were women and children.