The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has admitted to killing an Al Jazeera journalist. It claims that Ismail al-Ghoul was a terrorist who took part in last year’s Hamas attack on the Jewish state.
On Wednesday, Al Jazeera said that two of its reporters, al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Rifi, were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza. The Qatar-based network, which has long had strained relations with the Israeli government, said that their vehicle had been directly targeted in the Shati refugee camp.
Al Jazeera described the incident as a “targeted assassination,” vowing to “pursue all legal actions to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes.” It also said that the two were preparing a report near the house of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, who was killed in a bombing in Tehran earlier this week. Iran and Hamas accused Israel of orchestrating the attack; West Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
While the Israeli military did not initially respond to Al Jazeera’s accusations, it issued a statement on Thursday claiming that it “struck and eliminated [-] al-Ghoul,” describing him as “a Hamas military wing operative and Nukhba terrorist who participated in the October 7 massacre.”
The IDF added that al-Ghoul “instructed other operatives on how to record operations and was actively involved in recording and publicizing attacks against IDF troops,” describing his actions as “vital part of Hamas’ military activity.” The statement made no mention of Rami al-Rifi’s death and did not say whether al-Ghoul was directly involved in the fighting.
Al Jazeera has vehemently denied the “baseless” allegations, saying the incident “highlights Israel’s long history of fabrications and false evidence used to cover up its heinous crimes.” It also stated that the Israelis “abducted” al-Ghoul in March and “detained him for a period of time before his release.” This, according to the network, “debunks and refutes [Israel’s] false claim of his affiliation with any organization.”
The Israel-Hamas war has so far claimed the lives of over 39,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and brought unprecedented destruction to Gaza. Some 1,400 Israelis have also been killed, according to a count by Israeli officials. At least 113 journalists and media workers have been confirmed killed as of August, 1 2024 – most of them Palestinians, the Committee to Protect Journalism reported.