Al Jazeera disputes Israel’s claims over journalist killed in attack

The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday (1) that it killed Al Jazeera journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul in an airstrike in Gaza, saying he was a Hamas operative and had taken part in the attack on Israel on October 7.

Al Jazeera denied these “baseless allegations”, saying they were an attempt to justify the deliberate killing of its journalists.

“The network condemns the accusations against its correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul, without providing any evidence, documentation or video,” it said in a statement, adding that it reserves the right to take legal action against those responsible.

Qatar’s broadcaster said on Wednesday that Al-Ghoul and cameraman Ramy El Rify were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City while they were on a filming assignment near the home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran the same day.

The Israeli military said Al-Ghoul was a member of the elite Nukhba unit that took part in the October 7 attack and advised Hamas operatives on how to record the operations, as well as being involved in recording and broadcasting attacks on Israeli troops.

“Their activities in the field were a vital part of Hamas’ military activity,” they said in a statement.

Al Jazeera said Al-Ghoul had been working for the network since November 2023 and that his sole profession was that of a journalist.

The broadcaster added that he had been arrested and detained at Al-Shifa Hospital in the northern part of the Gaza Strip when it was taken over by Israeli forces in March before being released, which the broadcaster said “debunks and refutes the false claim of his affiliation with any organization.”

The Israeli government has banned Al Jazeera from operating in Israel, accusing it of posing a threat to national security.

Al Jazeera, which has been highly critical of the Israeli campaign in Gaza, denies inciting violence.

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said the deaths of the two Al Jazeera staff members brought to 165 the number of Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli fire since October 7.