Palestinian Territories – The Palestinian Journalists Protection Committee (PJPC) strongly condemns the assassination of journalist Mohammad Mansour, who succumbed to severe injuries following a direct Israeli strike on a media tent near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
This brutal attack also claimed the lives of journalist Hilmi Al-Faqaawi and young civilian Yousef Al-Khazendar, and left eight other journalists wounded, in a horrifying scene that underscores Israel’s persistent targeting of Palestinian media workers.
PJPC reports that Mansour, who served as an editor at the local Palestine Today news agency, was inside a designated press tent when the Israeli strike ignited a fire that engulfed his body. The nature of the attack represents a continuation of Israel’s systematic violations against journalists in Gaza.
The Committee stressed that “burning journalists alive before the eyes of the world is a de facto declaration of impunity,” warning that “Israel’s escalation against Palestinian journalists—through incitement, dehumanization, and erasure of their professional status—is intended to justify their targeting and conceal war crimes.”
PJPC further asserts that ongoing international silence enables Israel to persist in these flagrant breaches of international humanitarian law, which explicitly mandates the protection of journalists in armed conflict. The Committee holds international institutions morally and legally accountable for the ongoing systematic targeting of media personnel.
The Committee renews its call for an independent international investigation into war crimes committed against journalists in Gaza, prosecution of those responsible, compensation for the families of the victims and wounded, and increased international pressure on Israel to immediately cease its attacks on journalists and ensure their protection.
This latest crime comes amid a broader escalation in violence against journalists during the war on Gaza. More than 200 Palestinian journalists have been documented killed since the start of the war in October 2023, in blatant violation of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the targeting of civilians and media workers.
