The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that two individuals, identified as journalists Hamza al-Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuria, were killed in a strike in southern Gaza's Rafah area. The IDF claims that both were affiliated with terrorist organizations operating in the Hamas-controlled enclave.
According to a statement released by the IDF on X late Wednesday night, the incident occurred on January 7 when an Israeli Air Force (IAF) aircraft, directed by troops, targeted individuals operating a drone near Rafah, posing a threat to IDF soldiers. The IDF later identified the drone operators as al-Dahdouh and Thuria.
Documents allegedly found by Israeli troops in Gaza purportedly revealed Thuria's role as Squad Deputy Commander in Hamas' Gaza City Brigade and al-Dahdouh's involvement in the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization's electronic engineering unit. Al-Dahdouh had also previously served as a deputy commander in Islamic Jihad's Zeitun Battalion.
The IDF's post included an image of a document, supposedly from the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist group. The document, written in Arabic, highlighted two names in red.
Hamza al-Dahdouh was the son of Al Jazeera Gaza correspondent Wael Dahdouh, and Mustafa Thuria worked as a video stringer for AFP and had also collaborated with Al Jazeera.
The Israeli army stated that it targeted a car carrying the two individuals after identifying a terror operative piloting a drone that posed a threat to IDF soldiers. The military intelligence confirmed that both were actively involved in attacks against IDF forces.
Following the deaths, protests erupted in Gaza. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international non-profit, condemned the killings and announced that it received assurances from the prosecutor's office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) about an investigation into crimes and atrocities against journalists in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
According to RSF, at least 79 media workers have been killed in the past three months in the Hamas-controlled enclave.
(With Agency Inputs)
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