Al-Aqsa TV
July 30, 2014, in Shijaiyah, Gaza, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Palestinian journalist al-Aryan was killed in an Israeli bombardment on a market in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza, according to his employer and news reports. At least 16 other people were killed and 160 wounded in the strike, according to news reports.

Al-Aryan, a cameraman for the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV channel, went to the market to take pictures of the bombardment when a second round of bombing hit, Samir Abu Mohsen, the channel's program director, told CPJ.

Rami Rayan, a photographer for the local news agency the Palestine Network for Press and Media, was also killed in the bombardment, Nasr Abu Foul, the network's manager, told CPJ. Rayan was at the market to cover Palestinian citizens shopping for basic necessities during a four-hour truce called by the Israeli military, Abu Foul said. Mohammed Nour al-Din al-Deiri, a Palestinian media worker for the Palestine Network for Press and Media, was killed in the attack that day, according to reports and his father, who spoke to CPJ.

At least two other journalists were injured in the strikes. Abu Foul told CPJ that the network's editor, Mahmoud al-Qasas, had been badly injured in the strike and was hospitalized with head injuries. The local Al-Manara media agency said its cameraman, Hamid al-Shobaky, was also injured and hospitalized.

A graphic video posted by Al-Manara on its Facebook page shows repeated explosions rocking Shijaiyah, as the injured cry out for help amid ringing sirens. At the beginning of the video, Rayan is seen filming as ambulances arrive. By the end, he lies dead on the street among other victims. According to CNN, the video came from Al-Shobaky's camera. After he was injured, his assistant picked up the camera and continued to film.

CPJ's calls and emails to the Israel Defense Forces' spokesperson's unit were not immediately returned. But IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said on a July 22, 2014, press conference in response to CPJ's question about the recent death and injury of journalists and media workers in Gaza that "we do not target journalists [...] but journalists do sometimes put themselves in risky positions." He continued, "We have to do our best to facilitate and keep them out of harm's way."

Medium: Television
Job: Camera Operator, Photographer
Beats Covered: Human Rights, Politics, War
Gender: Male
Local or Foreign: Local
Freelance: No
Type of Death: Crossfire/Combat-Related
Suspected Source of Fire: Military Officials

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.