Israeli Forces Kill 11 Palestinians in Gaza Including Three Journalists
Hospitals in Gaza have reported that Israeli forces killed at least eleven Palestinians on Wednesday, with the victims including three journalists and two thirteen-year-old boys. This latest outbreak of violence represents a significant strain on the three-month-old ceasefire that had been holding in the region.
Journalists Targeted While on Humanitarian Mission
Palestinian health officials confirmed that an Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian journalists who were travelling in a car. They were reportedly on their way to film a newly established displacement camp in the Netzarim area of central Gaza. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate issued a statement declaring that the reporters "were carrying out a humanitarian, journalistic mission to film and document the suffering of civilians."
The journalists have been identified as Mohammed Salah Qashta, Abdul Raouf Shaat, and Anas Ghneim. Shaat was a regular contributor to Agence France-Presse as a photo and video journalist, although the agency clarified he was not on an official assignment at the time of the strike. Local sources indicated their work was sponsored by the Egyptian Relief Committee, which oversees Egypt's relief operations in Gaza. A spokesperson for the committee stated the vehicle was known to the Israeli military.
Video footage circulating online showed a burned-out vehicle by the roadside, with smoke still rising from the wreckage and debris scattered across the ground. Medical officials reported that the bodies of two journalists were taken to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, while the third was transferred to al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.
Separate Incidents Claim Lives of Teenage Boys
In separate incidents on the same day, two boys aged thirteen were killed in different parts of Gaza. In one strike, a boy, his father, and a twenty-two-year-old man were hit by Israeli drones on the eastern edge of the Bureij refugee camp, according to officials at al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah.
In another case, a thirteen-year-old boy named Moatsem al-Sharafy was shot dead by Israeli troops while collecting firewood in the eastern town of Bani Suheila, as reported by Nasser hospital. Footage shared online showed the boy's father weeping over his body on a hospital bed. His mother, Safaa al-Sharafy, told the Associated Press that her son had gone out to gather firewood so she could cook, saying "He went out in the morning, hungry. He told me he'd go quickly and come back."
Israeli Military Statement and Broader Context
The Israeli military stated it ordered the strike after its soldiers had "identified several suspects who operated a drone affiliated with Hamas" in central Gaza. The military claimed "Following the identification and due to the threat that the drone posed to the troops, the IDF precisely struck the suspects who activated the drone," adding that details were under examination.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders noted that Israeli forces have killed at least twenty-nine Palestinian journalists in Gaza between December 2024 and December 2025, with nearly two hundred and twenty journalists having died since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Other monitoring groups have placed the toll even higher.
According to Palestinian health authorities, Israeli forces have killed at least four hundred and sixty-six Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect in October, highlighting the ongoing tensions and frequent violations of the truce agreement.
