Al Jazeera condemns killing of correspondent Hossam Shabat in Gaza

Qatari outlet says 'assassination' part of Israel's 'systematic killing of journalists'

The aftermath of Israeli bombardment in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza on Tuesday, near where Hossam Shabat was killed. AFP

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Al Jazeera news network, based in Qatar, has condemned Israel’s killing of Hossam Shabat, the channel's correspondent in Gaza, calling it a “heinous crime” that was part of “the Israeli occupation’s systematic killing of journalists”.

Mr Shabat was killed when his car was hit in an air strike in Jabalia on Monday. Israel’s military claimed he was a “sniper terrorist from the Beit Hanoun battalion of the Hamas terrorist organisation, who cynically posed as an Al Jazeera journalist”.

His killing is the latest in a series of Israeli attacks on journalists that have taken place throughout the Gaza war, mostly in the enclave. More than 200 media workers have been killed in the strip since October 2023, the Government Media Office in Gaza has said. The Committee to Protect Journalists' latest toll is more than 170 journalists and media workers killed since the start of the Israeli war.

"Hossam joined the network’s journalists and correspondents killed during the ongoing war on Gaza, including Samer Abudaqa, Hamza Al Dahdouh, Ismail Al Ghoul and Ahmed Al Louh," Al Jazeera said.

Israel often accuses journalists in Gaza, including some working for Al Jazeera, of being operatives of Hamas or other Palestinian militant groups.

In a prewritten post on X intended to be published in the event of his death, Mr Shabat said: “If you’re reading this, it means I have been killed – most likely targeted – by the Israeli occupation forces.

"I documented the horrors in northern Gaza minute by minute, determined to show the world the truth they tried to bury. I slept on pavements, in schools, in tents – anywhere I could. Each day was a battle for survival. I endured hunger for months, yet I never left my people’s side. By God, I fulfilled my duty as a journalist,” he added.

“I ask you now: do not stop speaking about Gaza. Do not let the world look away. Keep fighting, keep telling our stories – until Palestine is free.”

Israel’s military said of Mr Shabat that “internal Hamas documents were revealed, proving that he participated in military training conducted by the Beit Hanoun Battalion of Hamas in 2019”. It also claimed he had "carried out terrorist attacks against Israeli troops and civilians".