Palestinian journalist killed in Israeli bombing after threats to end Gaza coverage

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian journalist on Sunday, weeks after he received threatening messages ordering him to stop filming Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Hassan Hamad, 19, died when his home in the Jabalia refugee camp was hit by artillery fire.

The Israeli army sent tanks and troops into the camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday evening, following a night of intense airstrikes. It was the third ground attack carried out by the army against Jabalia since the start of the war on Gaza a year ago.

Hamad was reporting on the new Israeli incursion just moments before he was killed.

A colleague with access to his account on X said Hamad sent videos of the assault late into the night.

In their last phone call at 6 a.m. (3 a.m. GMT), Hamad said: “Here they are. Here they are. It’s over.

A few months before his assassination, Hamad shared with his colleagues a screenshot of a threatening WhatsApp message he had received from an Israeli number.

The message read: “Listen… If you continue to spread lies about Israel, then we will come for you and turn your family into… This is your final warning. »

Listen, if you continue to spread lies about Israel, then we will come for you and turn your family into (…) This is your last warning.” Journalist Hassan Hamad received this message on WhatsApp, as well as several calls of an Israeli officer ordered him to stop filming at… pic.twitter.com/q6SAzMj5xc

– Maha Hussaini (@MahaGaza) October 6, 2024

According to his colleagues, this is not the only time Hamad has received threats because of his work. He had also received direct phone calls and text messages from an Israeli officer ordering him to stop filming.

“He received the first message on May 13. After that, he received multiple threats by phone and text message asking him to stop working,” said Ashraf Mashharawi, director of the production company Media Town, where Hamad worked.

“He refused to comply, believing that he had done nothing wrong and was simply playing the normal role of any journalist. We advised him to reduce his work, but he completely refused. He said: “I will not be intimidated by threats. We are right and they are wrong,’” Mashharawi added.

“Even though he was still young, I was amazed at how calmly he handled the message and insisted that he would continue his work regardless. »

Hours before his death, Hamad published an article about his survival of an Israeli drone attack in Jabalia.

“Thank God, my colleague journalist Moamen Abu Awda and I survived the quadcopter fire near al-Muqaid, in the middle of the Jabalia camp,” Hamad said.

Mashharawi said this was not the first time Hamad had survived Israeli attacks.

“They had previously fired artillery shells right next to him while he was filming. Another time, a quadcopter opened fire directly on him,” he added.

In his last message on X, minutes before his assassination, Hamad reported an Israeli bombing of a residential house in Jabalia that killed six Palestinians.

“A house was targeted near the Jabalia camp intersection in the northern Gaza Strip. According to initial reports, there are six martyrs, including a groom who was married only a week ago,” he said.

“It is clear that the shell was fired directly and specifically at Hassan’s room to intentionally target him”

– Ashraf Mashharawi, Hamad’s colleague

According to Mashharawi, Israeli artillery directly targeted Hamad’s room, where he was uploading footage he had filmed during the Israeli incursion.

“Hassan was killed in his room at dawn. He had just returned to his room to send us some material when he was directly killed. His brother, who was (in another room), was slightly injured. But it is clear that the shell was fired directly and specifically at Hassan’s room to intentionally target him,” Mashharawi told Middle East Eye.

“Hassan was repeatedly threatened for staying in Jabalia, and many of the photos and videos that made headlines were taken by him. Apparently that bothered (the Israelis) – the fact that his media coverage attracted attention. »

At least 175 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza government media office.