Vakkas Doğantekin
05 May 2019•Update: 06 May 2019
ANKARA
A list of Israeli airstrike targets posted on Twitter proves that Israel’s destruction of Anadolu Agency’s office in Gaza on Saturday was deliberate, according to a top agency official.
Israel had a “retaliation list” on hand before its attacks on Gaza and knew it was bombing the offices of a media organization, said Mustafa Ozkaya, Anadolu Agency’s deputy director, on Sunday.
"The list mentions destroying the Anadolu Agency building. It is a confession that they targeted us deliberately, not by mistake," said Ozkaya.
"Bombing Anadolu Agency is also proof of the level of destruction they have in mind for Gaza," added Ozkaya.
"Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Gaza.”
The Twitter account Israel News Feed on Sunday posted a tweet with a list of Israeli army (IDF) strikes, including the bombing of Anadolu Agency.
The tweet said:
IDF STRIKES GAZA IN RESPONSE:
- At least 150 Targets bombed
- At least 2 terrorists killed
- Underground tunnel destroyed
- Rocket factory bombed
- Six story Hamas Building bombed
- Turkish news building [Anadolu Agency] flattened
- Injuries reported
- PHOTOS
Israeli warplanes razed the building in Gaza where Anadolu Agency’s office was located with at least five rockets after warning shots, the agency's correspondent in Jerusalem reported. No injuries or death were reported, but the building was destroyed.
12 Palestinians killed
Founded in 1920, Anadolu Agency currently produces news in 13 languages and serves 6,000 subscribers in 93 countries, with at least 3,000 employees stationed in 100 countries posting some 1,600 stories, a day.
Since Saturday, 12 Palestinians, including a pregnant woman and her infant child, have been martyred and 83 others wounded by Israeli airstrikes.
Two Israelis have been killed since Saturday by Palestinian resistance rocket attacks in response to Israeli raids Friday which left four Palestinians martyred. Another 84 Israelis have received medical treatment, including 62 for panic attacks.
At least 200 civilian targets have been hit in Israeli raids in the Gaza Strip since Saturday, including seven residential houses.
The escalation in the Gaza Strip started when four Palestinians were martyred, including a teenager, and 51 wounded on Friday in Israeli attacks on Hamas-affiliated sites and a separate attack on a Palestinian rally against the decade-long occupation and siege of the Gaza Strip.
