By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Hatem Khaled
GAZA/CAIRO (Reuters) – A Palestinian journalist was killed on Monday and nine others were wounded, some critically, when an Israeli air strike hit a tent used by local media in southern Gaza, medics and the local journalists’ union said.
Footage showed people trying to douse flames from a fire in the tent, inside the compound of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, during the early hours of Monday.
Reuters was able to verify the video from the position, layout and design of nearby buildings and tents. The date could be verified by media reports and corroborating videos.
Other footage posted on social media but not verified by Reuters appeared to show the tent had been burned to the ground, along with the furniture and equipment inside it.
Images appearing to show a journalist in flames, and another person trying to rescue him, were widely shared.
Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A second Palestinian was also killed in the attack, Gaza medics said.
Later, dozens of journalists and relatives took part in the funeral of the dead journalist, Helmy al-Faqawi. Colleagues carried his white-shrouded body on a medical stretcher with his blue flak jacket placed on top.
“We will continue to deliver the message and convey the truth to the whole world. This is our humanitarian duty,” said fellow journalist Abd Shaath, who added that they were woken by the strike to find the nearby tent of their colleagues on fire.
Faqawi’s death raised the number of journalists killed by Israel’s campaign in Gaza to more than 210 since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.
In total, local health authorities said Israeli military strikes had killed at least 10 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Monday.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Palestinian officials say.
Israel began its offensive after thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Hatem Khaled in Gaza; Additional reporting by Vinaya K; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
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