An Israeli strike in Gaza has killed an Al Jazeera journalist, the Qatar-based broadcaster said, as fresh overnight attacks left multiple civilians dead and renewed allegations of ceasefire violations.
In a statement published on its website, Al Jazeera reported that its cameraman Ahmed Wishah was killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had carried out a strike that killed Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed Wishah in Gaza, alleging he was a “Hamas terrorist”.
“The IDF confirms it carried out a strike on Ahmed Wishah, who was a Hamas terrorist,” a military spokesman said.
The spokesman did not immediately provide evidence to support the military’s claim about Mr Wishah, but said “there will be a statement issued with further details”.
Separately, Gaza health officials said Israeli strikes killed five people — including four relatives from the same family — in the latest round of violence to shake the Palestinian territory despite a ceasefire.
Israel and Hamas continue to trade near-daily accusations of breaching the truce, and Gaza remains mired in bloodshed as efforts to secure a permanent end to the war remain stalled.
The civil defence agency — a rescue service operating under Hamas authority — said an overnight Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City killed four members of the al-Safadi family: a husband, wife and their two daughters.
It said 12 other people were wounded in the strike.
Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital confirmed it received the bodies of four al-Safadi family members, including two children.
“Around 2 o’clock, my cousins were asleep when a missile struck them. They have no connection to Hamas, nor are they involved in anything. They’re just innocent children,” said Nael al-Safadi, a relative.
Video from the aftermath showed the apartment’s exterior wall torn away, revealing a wrecked interior with rubble, clothing, mattresses and other household items scattered across the damaged rooms.
“By God, I still feel as though I’m in a dream – I never expected this to happen to us,” Mohammad al-Safadi, who survived the strike said.
“I’m a civilian. I swear to God I’ve never carried a weapon or fired one. What do you want from me? Go after whoever you’re after, what’s my fault in this?”
Al-Shifa hospital also said it received one body after a separate Israeli drone strike near an intersection in northern Gaza City.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the two incidents.
At least 1,012 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October last year, according to the territory’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks during the same period.
Restrictions imposed on media outlets and limited access in Gaza prevent AFP from independently verifying tolls or freely covering the violence there.
