Palestinian Territory –Palestinian Journalists Protection Center (PJPC) strongly condemns the targeting and killing of journalist Abdulraouf Shaath, alongside his colleagues Mohammad Qeshta and Anas Ghanem, in an Israeli airstrike that hit the vehicle they were traveling in Netzarim area in the central Gaza Strip yesterday, Wednesday, January 21, 2026.
According to information obtained by the Center, Shaath and his colleagues were targeted while carrying out their professional duties with the Egyptian Committee for the Relief of Gaza, documenting and filming the preparation stages of newly established displacement camps set up by Egypt in the Netzarim area.
PJPC confirmed that journalist Abdulraouf Shaath was directly targeted along with his colleagues while performing their work, as they were traveling in a vehicle clearly marked with the logo of the Egyptian Committee.
The Center emphasized that the identity of the vehicle and the humanitarian nature of the Egyptian Committee’s work and missions are well known to the Israeli military, underscoring that the attack constitutes a deliberate and premeditated targeting of media crews. This represents a grave violation of the most fundamental rules of international humanitarian law, which guarantee the protection of journalists during armed conflicts.
PJPC further noted that Israel continues to target journalists despite the ceasefire that came into effect in the Gaza Strip in October 2025, having killed more than six journalists since the ceasefire began.
The Center stated that the total number of journalists killed by Israeli forces since the start of the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023 has risen to 260 journalists, marking one of the deadliest periods for journalists in modern history.
PJPC called on all relevant international bodies, foremost the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, to launch urgent and independent investigations into the assassination of journalists in the Gaza Strip, ensure accountability for those responsible, and pursue Israeli leaders as war criminals before international justice mechanisms.
The Center stressed that the targeting of journalists constitutes a war crime under Article 79 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1977, which explicitly affirms the obligation to protect journalists engaged in professional missions in areas of armed conflict as civilians. Such attacks also constitute a serious violation of Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which criminalizes intentional attacks against civilians, including journalists.
PJPC warned that the ongoing impunity enjoyed by Israeli forces encourages the commission of further crimes against journalists, urging the international community to uphold its legal and moral responsibilities, put an end to silence and complicity, and take concrete action to ensure effective protection for Palestinian journalists in the occupied Palestinian territory.
