Israeli strike on media tent kills Palestinian journalist, wounds 6 reporters
Ahram Online , Monday 7 Apr 2025
Israel has struck tents outside two major hospitals in the Gaza Strip overnight, killing at least two people, including Palestinian journalist Helmy Al-Faqawi, and wounding nine others, including six reporters, medics said Monday.
Hospitals said 15 others were killed in separate strikes across the territory, AP reported.
A strike on a media tent outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis set the tent ablaze at around 2am. It killed Helmy Al-Faqawi, a reporter for the Palestine Today news website, and another man, according to the hospital.
The six wounded reporters included Al Jazeera cameraman Mahmoud Awad.
The massive blaze which engulfed the tent site left those nearby helpless to save an injured individual trapped by the flames, eyewitnesses told Al Jazeera.
The tragic incident unfolded as Israel continues its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which resumed on 18 March, killing at least 1,335 Palestinians so far.
Since then, the city of Khan Younis — including the heavily crowded Al-Mawasi area, home to thousands of displaced Palestinians — has been subjected to repeated bombardments.
The ruthless Israeli strikes have resulted in numerous casualties.
Relentless bombardment
On Monday dawn, Israel also struck tents on the edge of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir Al-Balah, wounding three people, according to the hospital.
Nasser Hospital said it received another 13 bodies, including six women and four children, from separate strikes overnight.
Meanwhile, Al-Aqsa Hospital stated that two people were killed and three others wounded in a strike on a home in Deir Al-Balah.
Israel has raided hospitals on several occasions, claiming that Hamas was using them for military purposes, allegations denied by hospitals' staff.
Expanding ground assaults
On Sunday evening, the Israeli army ordered residents of several neighbourhoods in central Gaza — including Al-Sahaba, Al-Samaaḥ, Al-Awda, Al-Zawaida, and El-Salah — to evacuate their homes in preparation for an impending military operation.
The Israeli military justified the evacuation orders by citing rocket fires launched by Hamas from the area toward the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon.
Therefore, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the military to deliver a "strong response" to the rocket attacks, according to a statement released by his office.
Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for the rocket barrage, saying it was retaliation for the "Israeli massacres against civilians."
The Ashkelon Medical Center reported treating 27 people who were injured as a result of the rocket attacks.
Since the resumption of the Israeli war on Gaza, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee from Rafah, Khan Younis, Shuja’iyya, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and other regions across the besieged strip.
Israel has also blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine, and humanitarian aid to Gaza since the beginning of March.
Since the start of the Gaza war, Israel has killed over 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Moreover, the war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90 percent of its population.
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