The Israeli army on Monday, killed a 23-year-old Al-Jazeera Gaza correspondent, Hossam Shabat in a targeted strike on his vehicle.
The killing is coming after Israel recently resumed its bombing of the Palestinian strip, ending the ceasefire deal that was in place.
News Band understand that it was around 3:30pm in Gaza on 24 March when an Israeli military drone targeted the vehicle carrying Hossam Shabat in the northern city of Beit Lahya.
Meanwhile, in a joint statement from the Israeli military and Shin Bet internal security agency said that forces had “eliminated… a sniper terrorist from the Beit Hanun Battalion of the Hamas terrorist organisation, who was also employed as a journalist by Al Jazeera”.
According to the Israeli statement, “internal Hamas documents” had proved Shabat had taken part in military training conducted by the militant group’s Beit Hanun Battalion in 2019.”
However, while confirming the death of Shabat, an Al Jazeera alert on Monday said, “Hussam Shabat, a journalist collaborating with Al Jazeera Mubasher, was martyred in an Israeli strike targeting his car in the northern Gaza Strip”.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Tuesday that 792 people had been killed since Israel resumed bombardments on March 18, including 62 in the past 24 hours.
Israel has repeatedly accused Al Jazeera reporters in Gaza of being “terrorist operatives” affiliated with militant groups, and has suspended the network’s broadcasts.
But Al Jazeera has denied the accusations and says Israel systematically targets its staff in Gaza
