A Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli air strike in northern Gaza on Sunday, bringing the number of media workers killed since the conflict began in October 2023 to 220, according to local reports.
Hassan Majdi Abu Warda, who led the Barq Gaza news agency, lost his life when an Israeli strike hit his home in the Jabalia Nazla area. Several members of his family were also killed in the attack, the government media office in Gaza confirmed.
The media office condemned what it described as a pattern of targeted attacks on journalists in the region and urged international human rights and media groups to speak out against what it called “systematic crimes” against reporters in Gaza.
Since the start of the military campaign, Israeli air strikes have devastated much of the enclave. More than 53,900 Palestinians have been killed, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health authorities. The humanitarian crisis has deepened with each passing week, as civilian infrastructure collapses under continued bombardment.
Despite repeated international calls for a ceasefire and mounting pressure from global institutions, the Israeli military has continued its operations across Gaza. The death of Abu Warda is another blow to the region’s press, which has suffered heavy losses while trying to report from the frontlines of the conflict.
Legal pressure on Israel has also grown. In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a separate case at the International Court of Justice, where it is being accused of committing genocide against Palestinians during the ongoing military campaign.
As the war continues, the loss of journalists like Abu Warda has raised concerns about the risks faced by those trying to report on the conflict. Calls for accountability grow louder with each casualty, but for many in Gaza, justice still feels far out of reach.