Ismail al-Ghoul was one of Gaza’s youngest and bravest journalists. On Wednesday, al-Ghoul, along with photographer Rami al-Rifi, was reporting from the al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, an area designated as a “safe zone” by Israel. Moments after, an Israeli drone bombed the vehicle carrying al-Ghoul and his cameraman, killing the two journalists instantly. The bombed vehicle was marked “press.” Both al-Ghoul and al-Rifi were wearing press vests when targeted. Al-Ghoul was only twenty-seven.
The bodies of al-Ghoul and al-Rifi were found in pieces and decapitated, according to Al Jazeera. Footage shows al-Ghoul’s colleagues weeping over his body, screaming: “There’s no head, there’s no head.” Al-Ghoul met the horrific fate of many of the victims in Gaza whose tragic death had been so devotedly documented over the past ten months. One of al-Ghoul’s latest posts features a bereaved Gazan father holding the headless body of his child.
A steadfast reporter, al-Ghoul was our window to Gaza. He labored tirelessly to chronicle the horrors of genocide in the besieged enclave, having covered dozens of massacres, mass graves, and school and hospital bombings, especially at al-Shifa Hospital and in the northern neighborhoods of Gaza. In March, Israeli soldiers in Gaza kidnapped al-Ghoul from al-Shifa Hospital and severely beat him, yet he continued to report on Israel’s war crimes with renewed persistence. His firsthand reports and coverage were shared by Al Jazeera and several international outlets, including this magazine.
“Without Ismail, the world would not have seen the devastating images of these massacres,” wrote one of al-Ghoul’s colleagues at Al Jazeera.
As long as US officials continue to undermine the international justice system to run cover for Israel’s war crimes, it’s hard to see how Israel will stop murdering journalists in Gaza.
Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif, al-Ghoul’s colleague at…
La suite est à lire sur: jacobin.com
Auteur: Seraj Assi
