The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 45,436, with 108,038 others injured, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Friday.
The rise in the number of fatalities came after 37 more Palestinians were killed and 98 others were injured in the past 24 hours by Israeli strikes.
The Israeli army reportedly set fire to parts of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, after storming the facility, according to Palestinian medical officials.
Munir al-Borsh, Director General of Gaza's health authorities, stated that Israeli forces forced all medical staff, patients, and their companions to evacuate to the hospital's outer courtyard before torching large sections of the key medical facility in northern Gaza.
Eyewitnesses and sources reported seeing smoke rising from the main sections of the hospital as the Israeli soldiers set fire to the structure. The army also conducted searches of the wounded and patients in the courtyard and transferred hospital staff to a nearby school.
There was no immediate response from the Israeli military regarding the incident.
Prior to the raid, the hospital was housing around 350 people, including 75 wounded patients and their companions. Kamal Adwan is the largest medical facility in northern Gaza, serving over 400,000 people before the ongoing conflict. The Israeli army has blockaded the hospital for more than two months as part of its military operations in northern Gaza.
Gaza-based health authorities also reported that an Israeli airstrike on a building near the hospital killed around 50 people, including five medical staff, on Thursday. The authorities called on the international community to urgently intervene to protect civilians and health workers in Gaza.
Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 45,436
Palestinian journalists and media workers in the war-torn Gaza Strip face persistent security threats from the Israeli military, targeting these innocent professionals as they endeavor to cover the conflict and report on the destructive Israeli attacks in Gaza.
According to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, as of December 20, at least 133 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict began in October 2023, marking the deadliest period for journalists since the committee began collecting data in 1992.
Five Palestinian journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle of the Al-Quds Today satellite channel stationed in front of Al-Awda Hospital in the al-Nuseirat camp in central Gaza early Thursday morning, according to Palestinian sources.
"Ayman, his mother and one of his brothers headed to Al-Awda Hospital to check on his wife who was in labor. There, he met a number of his fellow journalists who were in front of the hospital to cover the news, as he went to greet them, they were directly targeted by the Israeli occupiers," said Sameh AL-Jadi, a relative of a journalist who died in the attack.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that acting on intelligence, the Air Force conducted a "precise strike" on an Islamic Jihad "terrorist cell" inside a vehicle in the area of al-Nuseirat.
Despite the Israeli military's assertion that they targeted a group of Islamic Jihad fighters, Palestinian journalists confirm that the victims were well-known journalists covering the events and that none of them were militants.
"This place is known for the presence of press vehicles marked with the signs of 'TV' and 'Press.' Everyone knows this area is designated for filming reports and live broadcasting. The occupiers deliberately targeted the press crew directly. We narrowly escaped death," said Talal Al-Arouqi, a Palestinian journalist.
Journalists in Gaza encounter particularly hazardous conditions as they strive to report on the conflict, which constrains their ability to document the devastating Israeli attacks, the persistent famine, the accounts of people's displacement, and the destruction of infrastructure.
"This Israeli war has no rules, so naturally it includes targeting journalists. We believe the bombing of journalists aims to conceal the truth, and we think the occupiers will continue to target journalists, medical staff and others as long as the world does not put an end to these crimes," said Sami Abu Salem, a Palestinian journalist.
Despite international law protecting the rights of journalists to conduct their work, Israel persists in targeting the media throughout Gaza. Many view Israel's targeted killings as an effort to block news coverage, especially considering that foreign journalists have also been barred from entering Gaza.
Palestinian journalists in Gaza face enduring security threats from Israeli attacks
