Israel killed Palestinian Al Jazeera journalists Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi in Gaza on Wednesday, in what Al Jazeera Media Network called a “targeted assassination” of the two journalists known for their prolific coverage of the genocide as they, themselves, faced relentless persecution from Israeli forces.
Correspondent al-Ghoul and cameraman al-Rifi were killed by an Israeli strike as they were working from al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza on Wednesday, reporting on the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran hours before.
Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemned the attack. “The Israeli occupation forces targeted the vehicle in which Ismail and Rami were targeted with a missile, resulting in cold-blooded assassination,” the network wrote in a statement.
Israeli forces struck the journalists in their car, beheading al-Ghoul as he donned his press vest.
Al-Ghoul was particularly well-known for his coverage of northern Gaza, a region that Israel has subjected to the worst of its famine and deprivation campaigns for much of the genocide. When Israel was raiding al-Shifa Hospital, as it has done many times, the two reported there — and al-Ghoul was once arrested, along with a number of other journalists, by Israeli forces and badly beaten as they reported on Israel’s massacre at the hospital.
Because al-Ghoul was often on camera and reporting in an area that was closed off to the rest of Gaza for many months, he was able to give the world a unique look into the devastation Israel has wrought on Gaza that would otherwise potentially have gone unseen.
“Ismail was renowned for his professionalism and dedication, bringing the world’s attention to the suffering and atrocities committed in Gaza, especially in Al-Shifa Hospital and the northern neighborhoods,” said Al Jazeera Managing Editor Mohamed Moawad. “Without Ismail, the world would not have seen the devastating images of these massacres.”
“Ismail was a determined journalist who refused to succumb to hunger, illness, and the loss of his brother,” Moawad continued. “He relentlessly covered the events and delivered the reality of Gaza to the world through Al Jazeera. His voice has now been silenced, and there is no longer a need to call out to the world. Ismail fulfilled his mission to his people and his homeland.”
The journalists’ deaths are part of Israel’s decades-long campaign against Palestinian journalists as they report on the atrocities Israeli forces commit in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and beyond. Al Jazeera has faced some of the most brutal suppression by Israel, which recently banned the outlet from operating in Israel. The killing of al-Ghoul and al-Rifi brings the total number of Palestinian journalists killed in Israel’s genocidal assault to 165.
Al-Ghoul and al-Rifi’s colleagues at Al Jazeera and elsewhere in Gaza mourned their deaths, many tearing up as they reported on the deaths on camera. Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif was at the hospital when their bodies were brought in.
“Ismail was conveying the suffering of the displaced Palestinians and the suffering of the wounded and the massacres committed by the [Israeli] occupation against the innocent people in Gaza,” he said. “The feeling — no words can describe what happened.”
Some colleagues noted that al-Ghoul has been separated from his daughter and family, who the Israeli military forcibly displaced to southern Gaza, as he stayed in the north to report on the genocide. He repeatedly expressed his ache to see his daughter again, and Al Jazeera journalist Hind Khoudary said he was “counting the days” until he could reunite with his family.
“We wear our press jackets. We wear our helmets. We try not to go anywhere that is not safe. We try to go to places where we can maintain our security. But we have been targeted in normal places where normal citizens are,” Khoudary said.
“It’s heartbreaking to report this today. And it was heartbreaking to report Shireen [Abu Akleh]’s killing, Hamza [Dahdouh]’s killing and Samer [Abu Daqqa]’s killing,” she went on, listing the names of other Al Jazeera journalists killed by Israel. “This is not the first time we are doing this, but every time it feels as if it’s the first time.”
YOUR HELP urgently NEEDED
We missed our July fundraiser goal and need to keep fundraising to make up the difference.
The next few months are going to be pivotal and your tax-deductible donation will go far in helping us do our work.
Please do what you can today.