Palestinian journalist, 19, killed in Israeli raid after receiving threats

Hassan Hamad was killed in an attack on his home in Jabalia camp, taking the total number of journalists killed to 175.

Israeli forces have killed Palestinian journalist Hassan Hamad in an air strike on his home in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, days after the slain journalist said he was warned by an Israeli officer to stop filming in Gaza.

With the killing of the 19-year-old journalist, whose work appeared on Al Jazeera and other networks, the number of Palestinian journalists killed since the war began has risen to 175, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says at least 128 journalists and media workers are among the more than 41,000 people killed since Israel launched the devastating war on Gaza in October 2023.

Colleagues and the Government’s Media Office in Gaza confirmed Hamad’s death, saying the journalist’s home was deliberately attacked to silence him after he received threats.

“Hassan Hamad, the journalist who did not live past the age of 20, resisted for a full year in his own way. He resisted by staying away from his family so they wouldn’t be targeted. He resisted when he struggled to find an internet signal, sitting for an hour or two on the rooftop just to send the videos that reach you in seconds,” a post on Hamad’s X account posted by his colleague said.

“At 6am (03:00 GMT), he called me to send his last video. After a call that didn’t last more than a few seconds, he said, ‘There they are, there they are, it’s done,’ and hung up,” the colleague added.

Hamad had been documenting Israel’s war in Gaza for more than a year and worked as a freelance TV reporter.

According to Palestinian journalist Maha Hussaini, a few days before Hamad’s death, he had been threatened by an Israeli officer through a Whatsapp message and several calls, ordering him to stop filming in Gaza.

“‘Listen, If you continue spreading lies about Israel, we’ll come for you next and turn your family into […] This is your last warning’…” Hussaini posted on X, sharing the message Hamad had received.

Listen, If you continue spreading lies about Israel, we'll come for you next and turn your family into […] This is your last warning".. Journalist Hassan Hamad received this message on WhatsApp, along with several calls from an Israeli officer ordering him to stop filming in… pic.twitter.com/q6SAzMj5xc

— Maha Hussaini (@MahaGaza) October 6, 2024

The Israeli government has not yet commented on his death.

“Every time a journalist is killed, injured, arrested, or forced to go to exile, we lose fragments of the truth,” CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna said in a statement on Friday.

“Those responsible for these casualties face dual trials: one under international law and another before history’s unforgiving gaze,” he added.