Hawzah News Agency - Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of intentionally escalating these crimes in the face of shameful international inaction and silence.

Hamas stated that the killing of journalists forms part of the broader campaign of genocide waged by Israeli forces against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The Movement noted that the killing of 209 journalists—many alongside their families and children—by Israeli airstrikes, shelling, and gunfire reflects the occupation’s deliberate and vengeful effort to silence the media and deter journalists from exposing the truth of what is happening in Gaza.

“These unprecedented crimes against journalists in the history of modern conflicts require urgent action,” Hamas said, calling on the international community, the United Nations, and its judicial bodies to intervene and hold the Israeli leadership accountable.

The Movement also urged global media organizations and press freedom institutions to denounce these crimes and to intensify efforts to boycott and isolate Israel in response to its systematic targeting of journalists and media workers.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Palestinian journalist Mohammed Saleh al-Bardawil was killed alongside his wife and three children when Israeli warplanes targeted their apartment in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.

According to local sources, Israeli forces struck al-Bardawil’s home in the Emirati neighborhood west of Khan Yunis, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries. Shortly after, the deaths of the journalist, his wife, and children were confirmed.

Al-Bardawil is the third journalist to be assassinated by Israeli forces since the resumption of Israel’s military campaign on Gaza on 18 March, following the collapse of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which the Israeli government unilaterally abandoned.

The Government Media Office in Gaza announced on Tuesday that the total number of Palestinian journalists killed since 7 October 2023—when the genocidal assault on Gaza began—has now risen to 209.

The targeting of media professionals, particularly in their homes and alongside their families, underscores the escalating dangers faced by journalists in conflict zones and raises urgent concerns about Israel’s systematic attacks on press freedom and civilian life, in violation of international humanitarian law and protections afforded to journalists during armed conflict.