‘Nobody buying’ Israel’s ‘justifications’ for deadly Nasser Hospital strikes
Abdullah Al-Arian, associate professor of history at Georgetown University in Qatar, says the Israeli government’s “justifications” for its deadly Nasser Hospital strikes this week – including its claim that it targeted a Hamas camera near the facility – are largely failing to deceive the international community.
“These justifications – nobody is buying them, except for people who have already been sold essentially on the entire idea of a genocidal assault in which Israel can do no wrong,” Al-Arian said.
When considering the totality of Israel’s attacks in Gaza during the war, such justifications “not only ring hollow, but they’re actually quite nonsensical and insulting to one’s basic intelligence”, he added.
They are simply a “distraction from the never-ending assaults we’ve been seeing”, he said.
Reuters publishes obituary for its journalist killed by Israel after criticism
Reuters has published an obituary for Hussam al-Masri, the Palestinian cameraman for the agency who was killed by an Israeli military attack on Nasser Hospital.
The obituary describes al-Masri, who was born and raised in Khan Younis, as “an experienced cameraman whose positive approach in the most dangerous situations made him popular among Gaza’s tight-knit community of reporters”.
“He was strong, steady and courageous in the most challenging of circumstances,” said Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni. “His loss is deeply felt by all of those in this newsroom who worked with him.”
Al-Masri began working for Reuters, the agency notes, in May 2024, eight months into the Gaza war. Lately, he had been charged with filming a daily feed for Reuters from Nasser Hospital. He leaves behind a wife, who is suffering from cancer, and four children, aged 15, 18, 22 and 23, the obituary notes.
The obituary came after Reuters was criticised for its coverage of the deadly attack that killed al-Masri, as well as Israel’s war on Gaza in general.
“The Reuters news agency did not mention in their headline their cameraman, who had been working for them for months. In their article, they simply described him as a Reuters ‘contractor’,” Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reported from Gaza yesterday.
UNESCO condemns killing of journalists in Gaza, calls for probe into Nasser Hospital strikes
Audrey Azoulay, director-general of the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has issued a statement denouncing the killing of five journalists in two Israeli air strikes on Nasser Hospital.
“I condemn the killing of journalists Hossam Al-Masri, Mohammed Salama, Mariam Abu Daqqa, Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmad Abu Aziz, and call for a thorough investigation,” said Azoulay.
She urged respect for UN Security Council Resolution 2222, which condemns all forms of violence against journalists and requires states to ensure journalists can report safely in the field.
Italy’s Meloni calls Nasser Hospital strikes ‘unacceptable attack on press freedom’
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is the latest world leader to condemn the Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital that killed 21 people, including five journalists, on Monday.
“It is an unacceptable attack on press freedom and on all those who courageously risk their lives to report on the tragedy of war,” Meloni said during a conference in the beach town of Rimini.
During her remarks, Meloni also called on Israel to end its military occupation of Gaza, to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave and for a halt to the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
