Tel Aviv Tribune Net correspondents
Gaza- Photojournalist Sami Shehadeh believes that the shell that hit him, and led to the amputation of his leg, was intentionally hit, and that the Israeli occupation forces directly targeted him, with the aim of killing him and keeping him absent from the field in Gaza.
A few minutes after Shehadeh (36 years old) arrived with the crew of the channel for which he works, to the area north of Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, an Israeli tank fired a shell at them, and he fell to the ground, injured in his leg. He told Tel Aviv Tribune Net, “I was wearing the special uniform that distinguishes us as journalists, including a helmet and a shield, and even our car was marked with words and slogans indicating the nature of our work.”
Shehadeh has been working in the “profession of looking for trouble” for 17 years, and has participated in covering Israeli wars and repeated rounds of escalation in the Gaza Strip since 2008. He describes the current war as “the most violent” and has turned him into a “disabled person” who stays in the recovery bed at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city of Deir Al-Balah. The middle of the sector.
Deliberate targeting
This journalist recalls the memory of our colleague, the martyr Sherine Abu Aqla, whose assassination in front of the camera sums up the direct Israeli targeting of the Palestinian journalist. It calls for a serious stance from the international community and the institutions concerned with protecting journalists and supporting their rights, to curb the occupation and stop its series of crimes against Palestinian journalists.
On May 11, 2022, the Israeli occupation forces assassinated Tel Aviv Tribune correspondent Abu Aqla with a direct bullet to her head while she was working to cover an Israeli invasion of the Jenin camp in the West Bank.
Shehadeh says, “Just as they targeted Sherine directly, they targeted me directly, as well as all the journalists who were killed and injured during the war on Gaza. They were not targeted by mistake, and the occupation knows what it bombs and targets.”
The Israeli goal behind this systematic targeting of journalists – in Shehadeh’s opinion – is to “obliterate the truth and assassinate the image.” However, he shows his determination to continue his journalistic mission, and hopes to travel for treatment abroad and return to Gaza to carry the camera again.
Bloody toll
Shehadeh urges his fellow journalists to continue on the path, and not to be afraid or hesitant, saying, “If it were not for you, the world would not have seen the extent of the crime committed by the occupation forces against us in Gaza.” The whole world has come to know Palestine and the issue of its journalists, “thanks to the photo and the work of the Palestinian journalist over the course of 7 months of war.” “. He concluded his speech by giving advice to his colleagues to be strong and take care of themselves in the field of work.
According to monitoring by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, since the outbreak of the Israeli war following the attack on October 7 last, more than 130 male and female journalists have been martyred, and dozens of others have been injured and suffered amputations.
Dr. Tahseen Al-Astal, deputy head of the Journalists Syndicate, told Tel Aviv Tribune Net, “Seven months have passed since this war, with all its terrifying details and chapters. The occupation has killed our best journalists, completely and partially destroyed 86 offices and media institutions, displaced journalists in tents and hospital courtyards, injured dozens of journalists, and killed hundreds.” of their families and destroyed 77 homes of journalists in the Gaza Strip.”
Since the outbreak of the war, the occupation forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have arrested 100 male and female journalists, and 45 of them remain in detention. Most of them were transferred to administrative detention, and 4 journalists are still missing, according to Al-Astal.
Witness and martyr
Journalist Ahmed Al-Louh witnessed the targeting of Shehadeh, and he also suffered fractures in the chest and shrapnel in the head and neck as a result of the same shell. He told Al-Jazeera Net, “I was on the opposite side of the street when Sami and the crew arrived. I shouted at them to be careful, and it was only moments before I targeted them.” A shell fell and Sami fell to the ground, bleeding from his body, and his leg was amputated.”
Ahmed had bitter experiences with being targeted and injured many times before, the most serious of which was in 2014 when he was injured in the eye, and the Ministry of Health declared him a martyr, before it became clear that he was alive, and his treatment process was long and ended with the complete removal of his left eye.
Despite the complications Ahmed is still suffering from as a result of this injury and his need for treatment abroad, he insists on remaining in the field and continuing coverage.
Journalist Saeed Jars survived a bombing that targeted a tent adjacent to the tent where journalists reside in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, late last March, and he told Tel Aviv Tribune Net that he was injured in his legs as a result of this bombing, which also injured a number of other journalists.
Saeed soon returned to continue his work in the field, realizing the great responsibility that the Palestinian journalist bears in conveying the message and image to the world about what Gaza is being exposed to, and revealing the extent of the crimes committed by the occupation.