2 Al Jazeera journalists killed in Israeli strike in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Two reporters for Qatari television Al Jazeera were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Wednesday.

The Doha-based broadcaster said journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi lost their lives in the attack that targeted a car near the Aidia area west of Gaza City.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said the new fatalities brought the number of Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip to 165 since Oct. 7, 2023.

In a statement, the media office called on the international community and press organizations “to deter the (Israeli) occupation and prosecute it in international courts for its ongoing crimes, and to pressure it to stop the crime of genocide and halt the killing and assassination of Palestinian journalists."

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 39,445 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.