“MADA”: Continuation of Israeli Occupation Crimes During April and Targeting of eight (8) Journalists with Killings

Ramallah – 4^th May 2025 The Israeli occupation forces and authorities continued to commit their crimes against media freedoms in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as the genocide campaign on Gaza persists and its repercussions continue in the West Bank.

The “MADA” Center monitored and documented a total of 76 (seventy-six) violations against journalists and media freedoms during the past month of April, with the Israeli occupation committing the majority, totaling 73 (seventy-three) crimes and violations. These were distributed across 43 (forty-three) violations in the West Bank and 30 (thirty) violations in the Gaza Strip, while Palestinian parties in the West Bank and Gaza Strip committed 3 (three) other attacks.

Israeli Violations:

The number of documented Israeli violations against media freedoms in Palestine decreased during the month of April. MADA Center documented a total of seventy-three (73) crimes and violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces and authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, representing 96% of all documented violations during the previous month, compared to a total of ninety-eight (98) violations documented during March.

Although the Israeli violations decreased by 26% compared to the previous month, this does not reflect any improvement in the state of media freedoms in Palestine. The crimes of killing journalists continue to be committed in Gaza amidst the ongoing genocide, which has continued for the 18^th month. MADA documented the killing of eight journalists during April.

In addition to the killings, MADA documented eighteen (18) cases of physical assault, twelve (12) of which occurred in the Gaza Strip, including nine (9) injuries resulting from an airstrike by Israeli planes targeting a journalists’ tent near Nasser Hospital in western Khan Younis. This horrific incident, which occurred early on Monday, April 7, led to the death of two journalists and left nine (9) others with injuries, most of them severe. The most severe injury involved a journalist who sustained a skull fracture and shrapnel in the head, which exited from his right eye. The remaining injuries varied between burns and shrapnel wounds in different parts of the body. Additionally, the journalists’ tent was burned down, destroying all the journalistic equipment the journalists used for their work.

Overall, journalists were subjected to various types of physical assaults, ranging from being hit by gas bombs and suffocating from their fumes, to being beaten, or injured by shrapnel.

The occupation forces prevented seven (7) journalists from covering events, and targeted eleven (11) journalists and media crews with live ammunition, sound bombs, and gas bombs to prevent them from covering various events at times, and from completing their journalistic work at other times.

Israeli forces also bombed journalists' homes in Gaza, targeting the houses of journalists and their families. They also targeted tents housing displaced journalists, seven (7) of whom were either martyred or had their family members martyred or injured.

During April, the Israeli occupation authorities arrested three (3) journalists in the West Bank from their homes, showing no regard for their health conditions. Among those arrested was ALI SAMUDI, a reporter for Al-Quds newspaper, who was arrested from his home in Jenin despite suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes. Shortly after his arrest, he was transferred to an Israeli hospital due to his deteriorating health. Additionally, the Israeli authorities converted SAMER KHUWAYRA, a reporter for Al-Arabi newspaper and a program host at “Hawa Nablus” radio, to administrative detention a few days after his arrest without any charges. Meanwhile, independent journalist and former prisoner IBRAHIM ABU SAFIA was arrested after the Israeli forces raided his home in the village of “Beit Sira” west of Ramallah.

Six (6) journalists were detained under different conditions while performing their duties, five (5) journalists had their equipment confiscated, and three journalists were nearly run over by settlers while they were in the city of Salfit. The Hebrew media also incited against journalist SAMER AL-ZA’ANIN in Gaza through posts on his Hebrew pages and called on the BBC channel to stop working with him simply because he was performing his journalistic work covering the war on the strip.

In a separate context, the Israeli authorities renewed the administrative detention of imprisoned journalist ALA’A AL-RIMAWI from Ramallah for an additional four months. He has been detained since the beginning of the war on Gaza. The authorities also released journalist MOHAMMED MUNA after a 22-month administrative detention, he had been detained in Israeli prisons since June 27, 2023.

Palestinian Violations:

During the month of April, a total of 3 (three) Palestinian violations against media freedoms were documented, constituting 4% (four percent) of the total violations committed. Two (2) of these occurred in the Gaza Strip, while one (1) violation was committed by the Palestinian security services in the West Bank. These three (3) violations come in contrast to zero (0) Palestinian violations recorded during the previous month of March.

The Palestinian Intelligence Service in the West Bank arrested journalist ADHAM AL-KHAROUBI, a program presenter at “Hayat Nablus” Radio, after summoning him for an interview by phone, on charges of “inciting sectarian strife and defaming public authorities”. He remains in detention with the General Intelligence Service in the city of Nablus.

In the Gaza Strip, the Internal Security of the Ministry of Interior threatened journalist TAWFIQ ABU JARAD, Secretary of the Journalists’ Movement Office in the northern Gaza Strip, via telephone, warning him not to participate in the movement calling for an end to war and famine in northern Gaza. He was also instructed not to engage in any form of media coverage of the movement.

Additionally, three (3) plainclothes officers from the Medical Investigations Security Unit removed a journalists’ tent inside Al-Shifa Hospital, despite the journalists having obtained permission from the Director General of Health to set it up to facilitate their work. The tent was later reinstalled following the intervention of various parties.

List of Media Martyrs During the Month of December

#	Journalist Name	Date of Martyrdom	Place of Work
1.	MOHAMMAD AL-BARDAWIL	1^st April 2025	Al-Aqsa Voice Radio
2.	YOUSEF HASSOUNA	3^rd April 2025	Freelance Journalist
3.	ISLAM MAQDAD	5^th April 2025	Journalist and Writer
4.	HELMI AL-FAQAAWI	7^th April 2025	Palestine Today News Agency
5.	AHMAD MANSOUR	7^th April 2025	Palestine Today News Agency
6.	HANI KAHEEL	12^th April 2025	Al-Aqsa TV Channel
7.	FATIMA HASSOUNA	16^th April 2025	Untold Palestine Platform
8.	TAMER MAQDAD	17^th April 2025	Al-Aqsa Voice Radio

Details of Violations:

(01/04) Journalist MOHAMMED SALEH AL-BARDAWIL, a broadcaster for Sawt al-Aqsa Radio and 36-year-old journalist, was killed in an airstrike that targeted his home in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, at dawn on Tuesday.

According to his brother, WISSAM AL-BARDAWIL, at approximately 2:15AM, on Tuesday, an Israeli warplane targeted the apartment of his brother, journalist MOHAMMED AL-BARDAWIL, with two missiles in the Emirati neighborhood west of Khan Yunis while he and his family were sleeping inside. The strike killed him instantly, along with his entire family, who were blown to pieces by the force of the explosion. The house was completely destroyed, reduced to rubble.

Rescue crews were able to retrieve the body of the journalist and his family from under the rubble with great difficulty, and they were all transported to Nasser Hospital by ambulance.

(02/04) Israeli occupation soldiers detained a group of journalists, assaulted them with beatings and insults, and smashed journalist MUATH AMARNA’s phone during coverage of a military raid on Dheisheh Refugee Camp, south of Bethlehem, on Wednesday afternoon.

In his testimony to the MADA Center, freelance journalist MUATH AMARNA stated that at around 2:00 PM (two o’clock in the afternoon) on Wednesday, he and freelance journalist KHALED ABU AISHEH and freelance journalist AYAT RAMADAN were near Dheisheh Refugee Camp, southeast of Bethlehem, covering the Israeli forces’ raid, as military vehicles were moving at the camp’s entrance while the journalists were present.

A soldier approached the three journalists and asked them to hand over their personal IDs, then ordered them to move toward a concrete wall near a commercial shop. While their IDs were being inspected, more soldiers arrived and began directing obscene insults at the journalists. A few minutes later, one of the soldiers approached journalist KHALED ABU AISHEH and slapped him several times on the head while shouting at him in Hebrew and insulting him. The soldier then turned to journalist AMARNA and demanded his personal phone and began inspecting it while continuing to hurl insults. The soldier walked a few meters away, then smashed AMARNA’s phone against a metal wall and returned it to him.

The soldiers handed back the journalists’ IDs after detaining them for 20 (twenty) minutes. However, journalist ABU AISHEH’s wallet remained with one of the soldiers, who had taken it while retrieving his ID card. The next day, the wallet was found discarded near one of the commercial shops close to the camp.

(02/04) Israeli soldiers targeted freelance journalist MOHAMMED SAMARIN with rubber-coated metal bullets while he was covering demolition operations in the town of Anata, east of Jerusalem, on Wednesday morning.

According to the testimony of freelance journalist MOHAMMED KHUDAIR SAMARIN (38 years old) to the MADA Center, he was alone at approximately 9:00 AM (nine o’clock in the morning) on Wednesday covering a demolition operation in the “Wa’ar al-Beik” area of Anata, east of occupied Jerusalem. During his media coverage, two heavily armed and agitated soldiers approached him, prompting him to quickly leave the area before they reached him.

As the journalist was leaving the area, the soldiers targeted him by firing three live rounds in his direction. While fleeing the gunfire and due to the rugged terrain, his vehicle sustained damage from scraping against the uneven ground as he attempted to escape the attack and gunfire from the Israeli soldiers.

(03/04) Freelance journalist YOUSEF HASSOUNA (30 years old) was killed, and freelance journalist KHAMEES AL-RIFI sustained bruises on his right leg due to the collapse of a concrete wall following an Israeli airstrike on the “Dar Al-Arqam” school in Gaza City on Thursday evening.

In his testimony, journalist OMAR ABU NADA, a friend of the martyr, stated that around 4:15PM (four fifteen in the afternoon) on Thursday, an Israeli F-16 warplane launched several missiles targeting one of the wings of the “Dar Al-Arqam” school in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City. Journalist YOUSEF HASSOUNA had been sheltering there with his family after Israeli forces had previously destroyed his home. The attack led to his death, and his body, reduced to fragments, was transported by ambulance to the Baptist Hospital.

According to the testimony of freelance journalist KHAMEES AL-RIFI (26 years old) to the MADA Center, he headed to the school on Thursday afternoon immediately after hearing about the bombing to cover the rescue of victims injured by the Civil Defense teams and the recovery of bodies from under the rubble. While present at the site, a concrete wall collapsed on him as he was documenting the event.

The journalist sustained bruises to his right leg and received field treatment from the medical team stationed in the ambulance at the scene. The injury temporarily interrupted his coverage due to the pain, but he later resumed his reporting.

(04/04) In the early hours of Friday, the fourth of April, Israeli occupation authorities extended their order to shut down Al Jazeera’s office in the city of Ramallah for an additional 60 (sixty) days — marking the fourth consecutive extension of the closure.

According to journalist WALID AL-OMARI, the Head of Al Jazeera Office in the West Bank, Israeli occupation forces stormed the center of Ramallah at around 2:30AM (two-thirty in the morning) on Friday and posted the closure order on the entrance of the building housing the Al Jazeera Network’s office.

The decision came three days after the Israeli government renewed its closure of Al Jazeera’s office in Jerusalem and banned its operations for another 60 (sixty) days in Israel, Jerusalem, and the occupied Golan Heights. This marks the seventh such ban, issued under a recent amendment to the Emergency Law enacted by the Knesset on the first of April 2024, known as the “Al Jazeera Law”.

It is worth noting that Israeli authorities first closed the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah on the 22^nd of September 2024, while the office in Jerusalem was shuttered on the 5^th of May 2024. The pretext for these actions was the claim that Al Jazeera is aligned with Hamas, supports terrorism, and poses a threat to Israeli national security.

Additionally, the Palestinian Authority had already shut down Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah and banned its operations in the West Bank since the first of January, citing accusations of incitement and harming civil peace.

(04/04) Israeli occupation forces prevented two journalists from covering near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron on Friday morning and obstructed their work, forcing them to leave the area by force.

In his statement to the MADA Center, SARI JARADAT, a reporter for Quds News Network, mentioned that at around 11:30 AM (eleven thirty in the morning) on Friday, he was present with Palestine TV cameraman OLA AL-HADDAD near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to cover the arrival of worshippers for prayer. However, Israeli occupation forces present in the area prevented them from covering the event and forced them to leave through the main gates, claiming there was an order to prohibit photography in the area.

(05/04) The journalist and writer ISLAM NASR ALDIN MAJED (29 years old) was martyred during an airstrike that targeted her apartment in the western part of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday evening. Additionally, journalist BADR TABASH suffered from suffocation due to the smoke from the raging fire during coverage of the event.

According to the testimony of ISLAM NASR ALDIN MAJED’s father to MADA Center, she had been present around 11:45 PM (eleven forty-five in the evening) on Saturday with her family in their apartment on the fourth floor of a residential building in the “Al-Amal” neighborhood, west of Khan Younis. Suddenly, without warning, an Israeli F16 warplane targeted the building, causing the collapse of all four floors and leveling the building to the ground.

Rescue teams were able to retrieve the journalist’s body from under the rubble with great difficulty due to the lack of equipment and the large amount of debris that fell on her. She was found holding her three-year-old daughter, who was martyred along with her, while her second child, aged two, was found lying near a neighbor’s house after being thrown several meters from the force of the explosion.

The bodies of the journalist, her children, and several other martyrs in the area were transported to Nasser Hospital via ambulances.

It is worth noting that the journalist had been waiting for a scheduled trip to seek treatment abroad for her martyred daughter, who had been injured in a previous airstrike targeting a neighbor’s house.

cameraman BADR TABASH (24 years old) headed to cover the airstrike on Islam’s house and arrived shortly after the bombing when the fire was still burning. As he approached the area where the martyrs and the injured were, the flames intensified, and smoke billowed in the area. He suffocated and lost control and consciousness for a period of time. He was unable to continue with the coverage.

The journalist was transferred via an ambulance to Nasser Hospital, where he received necessary treatment in the emergency department and is now in good condition.

(05/04) The Israeli occupation police renewed the decision to ban the employee of the Islamic Awqaf Media Department, Jerusalem journalist FIRAS AL-DIBS, from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque for a period of three months.

FIRAS was summoned for interrogation at the Israeli police station Al-Qishla in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem on the last Friday of Ramadan. He was handed the decision to be banned from entering the mosque until this date. The Israeli police instructed him to return to the police station on Sunday, 5^th April, to receive the new decision. Upon his arrival, he was handed the decision to extend his ban from Al-Aqsa for another three months.

(07/04) Two journalists were martyred, and nine others were injured, some seriously, as a result of an Israeli airstrike targeting the journalist’ tent west of Khan Younis on Monday morning.

According to the testimony of journalist ABDULLAH SHAAT, one of the eyewitnesses, at around 2:30AM on Monday, an Israeli reconnaissance drone launched a missile targeting a tent near Nasser Medical Hospital west of Khan Yunis, where several journalists were present. This resulted in the martyrdom of Palestine Today Agency reporter, journalist HELMY AL-FAQAAWI (28 years old), on the spot. Journalist AHMED MANSOUR, also from the same agency, was critically injured with severe burns and shrapnel injuries all over his body while sitting on a chair, which made it difficult to rescue him. He succumbed to his injuries the following day, Tuesday.

The bombing also injured HASSAN ESLAIH, the director of Alam 24 News Agency, with shrapnel to the head and injuries to his right-hand fingers, as well as AHMED AL-AGHA, a BBC reporter, who was injured with shrapnel in his left foot. MOHAMMED AWAD, a cameraman for Al-Jazeera, was hit by shrapnel to the head, while ABDULLAH AL-ATTAR, a cameraman for Al-Jazeera Live, sustained shrapnel injuries across his body, which were described as moderate. Journalist HUSSAM AL-KURD, who also works for the same channel, was slightly bruised.

Cameraman IHAB AL-RADINI, who works for an international news network, sustained a skull fracture and a shrapnel wound to the head that exited through his right eye. Additionally, ALI ESLAIH, a reporter for Alam 24, suffered bruises in the pelvic area, while journalist MOHAMMED FAYEQ was injured with shrapnel in his right foot, and journalist MAJED QADI was wounded by shrapnel in his abdomen.

The bombing directly targeted the Palestine Today Agency tent, causing a fire that quickly engulfed it and destroyed it. The fire also damaged numerous journalistic equipment, including computers, work-related mobile phones, and press vests, and caused a disruption to the internet network in the area.

(08/04) Israeli occupation forces detained the crew of Palestine TV east of Yatta, in Hebron, for about 27 minutes, searched their vehicle, and told them, “There is no journalism except Israeli journalism”, as they were returning from covering settler attacks in the “Masafar Yatta” area on Tuesday evening.

According to the testimony of the manager of Palestine TV’s office in Hebron, JIHAD AL-QAWASMI, to MADA Center, at around 3:00 PM on Tuesday, he was with the TV reporter, AWAD AL-MASIMI, and cameraman, ALAA AL-HADDAD, in a vehicle belonging to Palestine TV, near the road leading to the Um Al-Khair area east of Yatta, returning from covering settler attacks in the “Masafar Yatta” area, when an Israeli patrol stopped their vehicle.

The soldier requested that all three journalists hand over their IDs. He then asked cameraman AL-HADDAD to turn off the vehicle’s engine and place the key on top of the car. After waiting for about 27 minutes at the location, the soldiers instructed cameraman AL-HADDAD to get out of the vehicle and open the trunk. After searching the vehicle, they inquired about the presence of cameras inside it.

AL-HADDAD informed them that they worked for “Palestine TV”. The soldier then returned their IDs and told them to leave, saying, “Only Israeli journalism exists here”.

(08/04) Freelance journalist SALMA QUDUMI sustained minor injuries from shrapnel when a nearby house was bombed while she was waiting to reach her workplace in Deir Al-Balah on Tuesday evening.

SALMA QUDUMI (28 years old), a freelance journalist working with several news outlets and websites, reported to MADA Center that she was standing near the ABU SAMRA intersection between Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah, waiting for a car to take her to the journalists’ tent at “Shuhada Al-Aqsa” Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

While waiting, an Israeli warplane targeted a nearby house with a missile, causing debris and shrapnel to scatter everywhere due to the strength of the explosion. The journalist was injured with minor wounds caused by shrapnel and stones from the explosion.

She was transported by a civilian vehicle to “Shuhada Al-Aqsa” Hospital, where she received treatment in the emergency department.

(09/04) Israeli occupation soldiers detained Radio Al-Rabaa reporter, journalist TAHA ABU HUSSEIN, in a room near the entrance to the Ibrahimi Mosque for 40 minutes (forty minutes), preventing him from covering the entry of worshippers to the site under the pretext that filming was prohibited in the area.

Journalist TAHA ABU HUSSEIN reported to MADA Center that at approximately 10:00 AM (ten o’clock in the morning) on Friday, he arrived at the Ibrahimi Mosque area in the Old City of Hebron to cover the Israeli forces’ prevention of worshippers from entering the mosque. While near the external security gates, two soldiers stationed at the checkpoint approached him and demanded his ID card and the camera he was carrying, claiming that filming was not allowed. He was then taken to a metal room inside the checkpoint.

The journalist was detained inside the room for 40 minutes (forty minutes) before an officer arrived and returned his ID and camera after inspecting them. Before he was allowed to leave, the officer warned him that if he were caught filming soldiers again, he would be arrested.

(09/04) Israeli occupation forces targeted several journalists and media crews with tear gas canisters to prevent them from covering the raid on Balata Refugee Camp in the city of Nablus on Wednesday morning, resulting in the injury of Palestine Post reporter by a canister to his left leg and the suffocation of Al-Alam TV crew.

According to the testimony of Palestine Post reporter, journalist MUJAHID MUAWIYA TABANJA (26 years old), to MADA Center, at approximately 11:00 AM (eleven o'clock in the morning) on Wednesday, he was present along with a number of journalists and media crews—all of whom were wearing press vests. The group included: Roya TV crew reporter HAFEZ ABU SABRA and cameraman MAHMOUD FAWZI, freelance journalist MOHAMMED AL-SAYEH, Al-Najah TV cameraman OMAIR STITIYEH, freelance journalists ABDULLAH BAHSH and SIDQI RAYAN, USIPA Agency cameraman NASSER ISHTAYEH, Xinhua News Agency cameraman NIDAL ISHTAYEH, and Associated Press cameraman MAJDI ISHTAYEH.

The journalists were covering the Israeli military raid on Balata Camp when the army launched tear gas canisters directly at them, despite the fact that only journalists were present at the scene. One of the canisters hit journalist TABANJA in his left leg, causing bruises which were treated on-site.

At around 5:30 PM (five thirty in the evening) the same day, an Israeli military jeep approached within about three meters of Al-Alam TV reporter SHADIA BANI SHAMSA and freelance cameraman SUHAIB ABU DIAK and fired tear gas canisters directly at them, despite their press credentials being clearly visible. Both suffered from suffocation and were treated on-site by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society medical teams.

(10/04) Israeli occupation forces arrested Hawa Nablus radio news anchor and Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper reporter, journalist SAMER KHUWAIRA (45 years old), at dawn on Thursday after raiding his home in the city of Nablus. His hands were tied, his eyes blindfolded, and he was taken to an unknown location.

According to the testimony of his wife, IMAN AL-AMER, a large number of Israeli soldiers stormed the Asira neighborhood in Nablus—where the family resides—around 3:00 AM (three o'clock in the morning). They first raided a neighbor’s apartment and mistakenly arrested the neighbor, also named SAMER. Upon realizing it was the wrong person, they released him and asked another resident to name the tenants of the building.

IMAN and her husband heard the commotion, and when a soldier knocked on their door with his rifle, she quickly opened it to avoid frightening their sleeping children. The soldiers entered the house and quickly searched it. After confirming her husband’s identity, they tied his hands, blindfolded him, and took him to an undisclosed location.

On Sunday, 18^th April, Israeli authorities placed the journalist under administrative detention without filing any charges. According to his wife, a court session is scheduled in two weeks, though it remains unclear whether the administrative order will be upheld or if he will be released. She added that after the arrest, her husband was initially held at Huwara Detention Center south of Nablus before being transferred to an unknown location, as far as the family is aware.

(12/04) HANI KUHAIL, a journalist in the graphics department of Al-Aqsa TV, was killed in a bombing that targeted his home in Gaza City at dawn on Saturday. According to RAED KUHAIL, the journalist’s cousin, journalist HANI SAMI KUHAIL (37 years old), was inside his home on Al-Nakhil Street in the Al-Sha’af area east of Gaza City at approximately 1:00AM on Saturday when the house was bombed by an Israeli F-16 warplane. The bombing caused large parts of the two-story house to collapse on the journalist’s head. Civil Defense rescue crews were able to reach his body with great difficulty due to the rubble and lack of equipment. It was discovered that he had sustained injuries all over his body, and that the bombing had also torn parts of him to shreds. The journalist was transferred by ambulance to the Baptist Hospital, where his death was officially announced.

(12/04) Israeli forces detained the crew of Palestine TV for nearly five hours, abused them, and conducted repeated field interrogations while they were preparing for a live broadcast near Al-Amal Hospital in Jenin on Saturday. The crew’s equipment was confiscated, and the cameraman was physically assaulted.

According to TARIQ HASSAN ABU ZAID (42 years old), a cameraman for Palestine TV, he and reporter AMINA BILALO were behind Al-Amal Hospital around 3:30PM preparing for a live broadcast when sudden gunfire was heard. Israeli soldiers approached after noticing the camera, claimed the area was a restricted military zone, and confiscated their camera and phones at gunpoint before taking them into a nearby house.

The soldiers detained the residents in one room and separated the journalists into different rooms, blindfolded and handcuffed. They were interrogated multiple times about their broadcasting equipment, mistakenly assuming they were using advanced technology, unaware that the live feed was being transmitted via a phone connected to the camera.

An Arabic-speaking officer questioned TARIQ, who explained the broadcasting setup and stressed they were unaware the location was off-limits, as there were no signs or prior warnings.

Despite TARIQ informing them of a prior injury, he remained handcuffed, blindfolded, and was beaten repeatedly on his back and feet by passing soldiers. During their detention, the soldiers mocked the journalists, forced them to sing, and played Arabic music.

The crew was transferred to another unknown location for further interrogation under accusations of “provoking soldiers by filming their assaults”. The soldiers also fired shots into the air and at the journalists’ feet during the ordeal.

Around 8:30PM, they were released, and their equipment was returned, but the camera was no longer functioning, and other gear had been mishandled and left with a foul odor.

(13/04) A satellite broadcast vehicle belonging to the National Media Company, which was being used by Al Jazeera, was destroyed in a fire after an airstrike targeted the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City early Sunday morning. Al Jazeera reporter ANAS AL-SHARIF narrowly escaped harm while broadcasting live during the attack.

According to AL-SHARIF’s statement to MADA Center, Israeli intelligence contacted a hospital staff member at approximately 2:10AM, ordering the immediate evacuation of patients and personnel from the hospital and its surrounding courtyard in preparation for an imminent airstrike.

Journalists present in the courtyard managed to evacuate within minutes, leaving behind most of their professional equipment and personal belongings. While Al-Sharif was live on air covering the evacuation of patients, Israeli warplanes launched two F-16 missiles targeting several hospital buildings. Fires broke out inside and around the hospital, and shrapnel fell near the journalist, narrowly missing him.

However, the flames engulfed the satellite broadcast vehicle, which was parked in the hospital courtyard and clearly marked with press insignia. The vehicle, which was facilitating Al Jazeera’s broadcast through services provided by the National Media Company, suffered severe damage, including the loss of technical equipment and external transmission gear.

Despite being visibly marked and situated in an area known to be monitored by Israeli surveillance, the journalists were not given sufficient time to evacuate or retrieve their gear before the strike.

(16/04) Israeli forces arrested freelance journalist and former detainee IBRAHIM ABU SAFIA (30 years old) after storming his home in the town of Beit Sira, west of Ramallah, early Wednesday morning and took him to an undisclosed location.

According to a statement given by his wife, journalist IKHLAS SAWALHA, to MADA Center, a large Israeli military force raided Beit Sira and surrounded their home before six soldiers (four male and two female) violently broke in, banging aggressively on the door before it was opened.

The soldiers demanded ABU SAFIA’s mobile phone and ID, and then isolated his pregnant wife, herself a former prisoner, in a room and locked the door.

ABU SAFIA was arrested while still in his sleepwear and house slippers, and his wife struggled to give him a jacket before he was taken away.

The soldiers remained in the home for about ten minutes, without searching the house or touching any belongings.

It is worth noting that ABU SAFIA had been detained twice previously by Israeli forces—once before the war on Gaza and again during the war. He was last released in August 2024.

(16/04) FATIMA RAED HASSOUNA, a 25-year-old journalist with the Untold Palestine platform, was killed in the bombing of her home in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City at dawn on Wednesday.

According to ANAS HASSOUNA, FATIMA’s uncle and neighbor, at approximately 1:30AM on Wednesday, an Israeli F16 warplane targeted FATIMA’s two-story home in the Tuffah neighborhood, causing a massive explosion that collapsed on top of its residents, completely destroying it and reducing it to rubble. Civil defense and ambulance crews arrived immediately, and all of the house’s residents were either killed or wounded. They were able to recover FATIMA’s body from under the rubble, with injuries all over her body. Nine other members of her family were also recovered after they were instantly killed, their bodies torn to pieces. They were all transported by ambulance to the Baptist Hospital. The house was burned down by the bombing, and all its belongings were destroyed, including the camera the journalist was using to film and document the war’s events as they unfolded. She had been covering the war on the ground even hours before her death.

(16/04) The Ministry of Interior’s Investigation Security Department in the Gaza Strip removed a newly established tent for journalists at Al-Shifa Hospital on Wednesday, after they had obtained prior permission to set it up. It was later restored after interventions from several parties.

In his testimony to MADA, AHED FARWANA, Secretary of the Palestinian Journalists Movement Office, stated that a group of journalists and a delegation from the Journalists Syndicate had previously met with the Director General of Health, Dr. MUNIR AL-BARSH, at Al-Shifa Hospital to obtain permission to set up a tent for journalists inside the hospital. He agreed and said he would “arrange the matter”. He then informed the delegation that the approval had been granted. An agreement was reached with the Al-Shifa Hospital administration to place a tent in front of the hospital’s eastern gate. The Syndicate provided a tent, which was placed in the agreed-upon area to facilitate the work of journalists in light of the deliberate shelling of media offices and institutions. However, on Wednesday, April 16, three members of the Medical Investigation Security Department, wearing civilian clothes, proceeded to remove the tent from the hospital courtyard. This occurred despite contacting several agencies, including the Government Media Office, to prevent the situation.

Following FARWANA’s testimony, he reaffirmed to Mada that, following interventions from multiple parties, the issue between journalists and security personnel surrounding the tent had been resolved. This resulted in the tent being re-erected at the hospital’s eastern gate and an agreement to facilitate the work of journalists from all parties.

(17/04) TAMER AHMAD MEQDAD, a 47-year-old journalist and language proofreader in the news department at Sawt Al-Aqsa Radio, was killed when his home in the Tel al-Zaatar area in northern Gaza Strip was bombed just after midnight on Thursday.

According to HAMMAM ASALIYYA, a neighbor of the journalist, TAMER was at his family home in Tel al-Zaatar when, around 12:00AM, a massive explosion was heard. It was confirmed to be the result of an Israeli F-16 airstrike that flattened the multi-story MEQDAD family house to the ground.

HAMMAM and other neighbors rushed to the scene to assist in rescue operations. With the help of civil defense crews, they were able to recover TAMER MEQDAD’s body, which had been buried under the rubble along with his young daughter, who was also killed instantly. His brother and the rest of his brother’s family were also killed. TAMER’s wife and two of his children were rescued with injuries and taken to the hospital for treatment, while the bodies of TAMER and his daughter were transported by ambulance to the Baptist Hospital.

(18/04) Israeli warplanes bombed a home rented by journalist AHMAD HEKMAT ADWAN in western Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Friday evening, killing one of his children and injuring others.

In his testimony to MADA, the 50-year-old journalist, who works in the Media Department of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that at approximately 11:50PM, an Israeli F-16 warplane targeted the residential building he lives in, located in the Khan Younis refugee camp. The missile struck the home directly and without warning, causing part of it to collapse. Dust, debris, and shrapnel filled the air, making it impossible to see.

With great difficulty, AHMAD managed to turn on a flashlight to check on his family. He found several of them injured. While searching for his children, he noticed his youngest son, just a year and a half old, was missing. He was later found trapped under the rubble, covered in stones. Neighbors helped extract him and transport him to Nasser Hospital, where he was declared dead three hours later. Two of Ahmad’s daughters and another son also suffered injuries and burns.

(19/04) Israeli forces raided the home of journalist WAFA AWAD in the Rabay’a neighborhood east of Tulkarm Refugee Camp on Saturday evening. After about an hour and a half, they withdrew, having searched the home, destroyed its contents, and confiscated his press ID cards and his mother’s phone.

According to WAFA MOHAMMED AWAD, a 47-year-old photojournalist with the Palestinian News & Information Agency (WAFA), Israeli soldiers stormed the upper floor of the house he shares with his family at around 6:00PM. They asked for his ID, which he handed over. One soldier asked, “Are you a journalist?” He replied yes. The soldier then asked, “Why were you filming me?” WAFA responded that he wasn’t, and that he is not permitted to film soldiers as he works for an official agency.

The soldier demanded his phone. WAFA initially refused, claiming he didn’t have one, but the soldier took it anyway. The soldiers then searched the home thoroughly, destroyed its contents, and tied WAFA up, bringing him downstairs to the floor where his mother lives. One soldier ordered him to bark like a dog, but he refused, replying, “I’m a human being, not an animal”. The soldier then beat him.

At 7:39PM, the soldiers left, having wrecked the entire home and confiscated his personal ID, official press card, journalists’ syndicate card, and his mother’s phone.

(20/04) Israeli forces targeted the crew of Al-Alam TV with live bullets and tear gas while they were reporting from Jenin Refugee Camp around noon on Sunday, as part of their coverage marking 90 days since the military incursion into the camp.

According to RAYA JAMIL OROUQ (36 years old), a reporter for Al-Alam TV, she and the station’s cameraman, MOHAMMAD ABDEL KHALEQ MANSOUR (25 years old), arrived at the Tawalba Mosque area, near the entrance to the camp, at 12:00PM to document the ongoing destruction caused by Israeli forces. While filming the destroyed streets from a distance of no less than 200 meters from the soldiers, they were suddenly fired upon with warning shots, followed by tear gas canisters. The attack forced them to abort their assignment and return quickly to their vehicle to reach a safer location.

(21/04) Israeli warplanes destroyed the home of journalist SAMI WAHID HARARAH in the Tuffah neighborhood of eastern Gaza City on Monday evening.

According to HARARAH (41 years old), an editor in the news department at Al-Aqsa TV, at approximately 5:40PM, Israeli F-16 fighter jets launched two missiles targeting a five-story residential building owned by his family. The strike completely leveled the building, including his own apartment. HARARAH and his family had evacuated the home nearly a month earlier, relocating to western Gaza following Israeli orders to vacate the area, which had been designated as a danger zone.

(23/04) SAEED AMIN ABU HASSANEIN, a 41-year-old broadcast engineer at Sawt Al-Aqsa Radio, was killed along with members of his family following an Israeli drone strike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Wednesday evening.

Journalist FADI THABET, reporting from Deir al-Balah, confirmed that around 8:00PM, ABU HASSANEIN was sitting with his family in a plot of land next to their home when they were directly targeted by an Israeli reconnaissance drone flying at low altitude. The sudden strike killed ABU HASSANEIN, his wife, and daughter instantly. ABU HASSANEIN himself was critically wounded and rushed to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving in the emergency ward due to the severity of his injuries.

(24/04) An Israeli F-16 airstrike targeted the house adjacent to the home of journalist ALI IBRAHIM ESLAIH, a reporter for Alam 24 News Agency, on Thursday morning, causing extensive damage to his residence.

ESLAIH (30 years old) stated that around 6:15AM, Israeli fighter jets bombed the GHALBAN family home in Al-Manara neighborhood, eastern Khan Younis. The targeted home was directly next to ESLAIH’s, and the blast caused part of his own house to collapse, rendering it uninhabitable. He had already been forcibly displaced and living in a small tent in western Khan Younis for several weeks prior to the strike, after the area was declared dangerous by Israeli authorities.

(26/04) Israeli warplanes bombed the tent of journalist RABEE’ AHMAD ABU NAQEERA (36 years old), a reporter for the Palestine newspaper and its online platform Palestine Online, west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip on Saturday morning. His wife and children narrowly survived the attack, while he was not present in the tent at the time.

According to ABU NAQEERA’s testimony to MADA Center, he was in Asdaa City, north of Khan Younis, around 11:15AM on Saturday preparing a report on the lives and conditions of displaced persons living in tents. During a phone call with his neighbor who resides near his family’s tent, the call was suddenly interrupted by screaming—then ended abruptly. Seconds later, he heard the sound of an explosion caused by an Israeli reconnaissance drone strike and saw smoke rising from the direction of “Tajammu’ Al-Amal” (Hope Gathering) for displaced persons behind the Kuwaiti Hospital in the Mawasi Khan Younis area, where his tent was located.

He immediately abandoned his work and rushed toward the area, approximately 3 kilometers away. Upon arrival, he was shocked to discover that his family’s tent—along with nine adjacent tents in the gathering—had been directly targeted in the strike. The missile and resulting fire had reduced them all to ashes.

(27/04) Israeli F16 fighter jets targeted the vicinity of journalist MUSTAFA AL-BAYID’s house with intense airstrikes in the center of Gaza City, destroying the apartment opposite his, causing significant damage to his home due to falling debris from the explosion.

In his statement to the MADA Center, MUSTAFA AL-BAYID (39 years old), a reporter for Russia Today (RT), said that he and his family were inside their house on Yarmouk Street in the center of Gaza City around 3:25PM on Thursday when Israeli aircraft bombed a house opposite his. The explosion shook his house and scattered shrapnel, causing debris to fall inside their home. He narrowly escaped injury or death due to the blast's force and the falling stones.

(27/04) Two journalists were subjected to a hit-and-run attempt by settlers driving an auto rickshaw vehicle while they were in the Wadi Al-Matwi area in Salfit to conduct an interview with the owner of the only house in the area on Sunday afternoon.

According to the testimony of freelance journalist AHMED AL-KHATIB (38 years old) to MADA Center, he, along with freelance journalist MOHAMMED TURKMAN (27 years old) and SHAHER AL-FAQEH, an Al-Aseera University media student, were in the Wadi Al-Matwi area in Salfit Governorate, wearing press vests, around 12:00PM on Sunday. They were conducting an interview with the inhabitants of the only house in the area, which settlers had placed flags on at the end of March, threatening the house’s residents with cutting off their hands if they removed the flags.

While standing on the side of the main road to conduct the interview, two settlers driving an auto rickshaw vehicle attacked the journalists, attempting to run them over and obstructing their work. The settlers tried to hit them three times, which forced the journalists to stop their work and leave the area.

(27/04) Hebrew media launched a campaign of incitement against journalist SAMER AL-ZANAIN through posts on its Hebrew-language platforms on Monday, accompanied by a photo of the journalist, calling on BBC to stop his work due to his media coverage.

In his statement to MADA Center, journalist SAMER SAADALLAH AL-ZANAIN (43 years old), a freelance reporter for BBC Arabic, said he was surprised on Monday to see pages associated with Hebrew media publishing reports and incitement posts against him, accompanied by a personal photo of him wearing a press vest. These posts accused him of covering ongoing war crimes in Gaza through BBC. The Hebrew media questioned, “How can a British channel broadcasting from London provide job opportunities for journalists from Gaza and give them space to appear on screen, whether in reports or field news participation?”

The Hebrew media also searched the journalist’s personal Facebook page and shared a post from 2011 regarding the Palestinian national situation, claiming that this post incited hatred against them. This marked the beginning of the incitement campaign, and they called for BBC to immediately stop his work.

(27/04) Israeli aircraft destroyed the tent of journalist AHMED ALYAN in the Shafi'i Camp west of Khan Younis after bombing the tents in the camp on Sunday evening. His wife and daughter were martyred, while he and the rest of his children miraculously survived.

According to journalist AHMED MUSA ALYAN (40 years old), a reporter in the news section at Sawt Al-Aqsa Radio, he was sleeping with his family around 11:10PM on Sunday in their tent in the Shafi'i Camp west of Khan Younis when an Israeli helicopter unexpectedly bombed the camp. Shrapnel from the bombing scattered across his tent, striking his wife in the head with a fatal injury. Another piece of shrapnel struck his daughter, who was born during the war, instantly killing her. Fortunately, he and the rest of his children narrowly escaped death, as shrapnel fell near their sleeping area but did not harm them.

(27/04) Internal Security of the Ministry of Interior in Gaza threatened journalist TAWFIQ ABU JERAD on Sunday through a phone call to his personal mobile for his coverage of the movement calling for an end to the war on the Gaza Strip.

According to TAWFIQ ABDEL AZIZ ABU JERAD (43 years old), Secretary of the Northern Gaza Journalists’ Syndicate Office, he received a phone call at 2:30PM on Sunday from a person who claimed to be from the Internal Security of the Ministry of Interior. The caller warned him not to participate in the movement calling for an end to the war, genocide, and famine, which had started about a month earlier in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza. He was also instructed to refrain from any media coverage related to the movement, including sending any news or pictures in the future or past regarding the movement.

The caller was very harsh and told the journalist, “If you participate, publish news, or prove your presence in any way, there will be no good for you”. This statement was perceived as a threat, and the journalist understood it to mean that he would face another type of assault if he didn’t comply with the verbal order and participate in the movement.

The threats extended to his wife, as the caller also instructed him to prevent his wife from participating in any women’s movement for the same reason.

Journalist ABU JERAD stated that the security forces in Gaza accused him of promoting the movement and covering its activities, but they had no evidence to support this false accusation. He filed a complaint with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate about the violation and threat he had experienced, and the Syndicate issued a statement condemning this action against Palestinian journalists, who continue to suffer from targeting by the occupation.

(28/04) Israeli forces prevented a group of journalists and media crews from covering a raid in the Al-Ain Camp in Nablus on Monday morning and obstructed their work, forcing them to leave the area without being able to cover the event.

According to HAFEZ MAHMOUD SABRA, a reporter for Roya TV, at approximately 11:35AM, a special unit of Israeli forces infiltrated and raided the Al-Ain Camp in Nablus. A group of journalists, including: MAHMOUD FAWZI, Roya TV cameraman, MOHAMMAD KHATEEB, reporter for Palestinian TV, ABDULLAH ABU SABRA, cameraman, KHALED BDEIR, reporter for Al-Ghad TV, SHADI JERRARA, cameraman, and independent journalists ABDULLAH BAHSH and MOHAMMAD SAYEH, were all present at the scene wearing press uniforms.

As the forces raided the camp, a squad of Israeli soldiers obstructed the journalists’ work, preventing them from covering the operation. One soldier forcibly pulled SHADI JERRARA away from the scene, surrounding him with troops. Another soldier covered the lens of Roya TV’s camera with his hand.

The soldiers repeatedly shouted at the journalists, pointing their weapons directly at them, which forced them to retreat and move away from the scene, unable to complete their coverage of the raid.

(28/04) Palestinian Intelligence arrested journalist and TV host ADHAM AL-KHROUBI on Monday after summoning him via phone. The prosecution extended his detention for 48 hours on charges related to his posts on Facebook.

According to HAMDI AL-KHROUBI, ADHAM’s brother, the Palestinian intelligence service summoned ADHAM, a 37-year-old journalist and host at Hayat Nablus Radio, by phone on Sunday. ADHAM went to the intelligence office as instructed but has not been heard from since, with authorities confirming his arrest.

As per MADA Center’s lawyer, ADHAM’s case was referred to the Nablus Public Prosecution, which decided to extend his detention for 48 hours on charges of “inciting sectarian strife” and “insulting public authorities”. On Wednesday, May 29, his case was referred to the Nablus Magistrate’s Court, where the court ordered his detention until the completion of his trial procedures, with the hearing adjourned until the end of May. His lawyer requested his release, but the court rejected the request, and he remained in detention at the Palestinian General Intelligence in Nablus.

(29/04) Israeli forces arrested ALI SMOUDI, a reporter for Al-Quds Newspaper, early on Tuesday after raiding his house in Jenin City and damaging his belongings. They interrogated him on-site and then took him to an undisclosed location.

According to MOHAMMAD ALI SMOUDI, ALI’s son, Israeli forces stormed the home of ALI SADEQ SMOUDI (58 years old) in the Al-Zahra neighborhood, near the inner roundabout of the Jenin Refugee Camp, at approximately 5:00AM on Tuesday. About 20 soldiers forcefully entered the house, blew open the building’s entrance and the door to the house, and subjected the family members to intimidation and abuse. The soldiers pointed their weapons at the family, ransacked the entire house, and deliberately damaged its contents. The journalist was interrogated on-site for half an hour before being stripped of his clothes and taken away to an unknown location.

It is important to note that ALI SMOUDI suffers from chronic high blood pressure and diabetes. He was later transferred to an Israeli hospital due to his deteriorating health condition and is scheduled to appear before a court on Tuesday, May 6.