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The Qatar Press Center condemns the journalists' massacre in Gaza.

The Qatar Press Center strongly condemns, in the harshest terms, the killing of four Palestinians — including journalist Hilmi Al-Faqaawi — and the injury of nine other journalists who were sleeping at dawn today, as a result of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a journalists’ tent next to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.

Simultaneously, another airstrike targeted a journalists’ tent in front of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.

The Center affirms that the deliberate targeting of journalists’ tents, gathering points, and homes by the Israeli occupation constitutes a war crime aimed at silencing the free press and preventing journalists and media professionals from conveying the truth to the world — a blatant violation of international and humanitarian law.

The Center renews its call on the international community, and on UN, human rights, and media organizations, to condemn the targeting of journalists in Gaza and to take urgent action to hold the Israeli occupation accountable before international courts for war crimes against journalists. The culture of impunity has emboldened the Israeli occupation forces to continue assassinating, detaining, and terrorizing journalists in full view of the world.

The Center also calls on the international community to pressure Israel to release detained journalists from Israeli prisons, where they are subjected to harsh conditions that deprive them of their most basic rights — rights guaranteed by international laws and conventions.

The Palestinian Civil Defense announced the martyrdom of journalist Hilmi Al-Faqaawi and youth Yusuf Al-Khazindar, and the injury of several others, including a critical case.

The fire consumed the tent site, and those nearby were unable to rescue any of the injured due to the intense flames.

The list of injured journalists includes Ahmad Mansour Hassan Asleeh, Ihab Al-Bardini, Ahmad Al-Agha, Mohammed Fayeq, Abdullah Al-Attar, and Al Jazeera cameraman Mahmoud Awad. Injuries range from severe to moderate.

A video clip circulated showing the fire blazing inside the tent following the strike, documenting journalist Ahmad Mansour engulfed in flames.

The video, filmed by one of the photographers at the scene, shows Mansour’s body charred with flames surrounding him after the strike.

Citizens tried, using whatever tools they had, to extinguish the fire amid shock at the nature and intensity of the bombing.

The targeting of journalists in Khan Younis comes less than 48 hours after the martyrdom of journalist Islam Nasr Al-Din Maqdad and her child, in an Israeli airstrike that hit a home in the western part of the city.

Since the beginning of the genocide war launched by Israel on Gaza on October 7, 2023, the occupation army has deliberately targeted journalists, resulting in the martyrdom of 214 journalists and the injury of hundreds more, according to official sources.