A funeral was held in the Gaza Strip Friday for Palestinian journalist Mohammad Abu Hatab, whose network said he was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Over 30 journalists have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war as of Friday, the majority of them Palestinians, making the conflict the deadliest for members of the press since 1992, two organizations said.
As of Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) estimated that at least 36 journalists, most of whom were in Gaza, have been killed in the conflict. CPJ said the first few weeks of the war has been the deadliest period for journalists covering conflict since 1992, when it began tracking. Reporters Without Borders said on Wednesday that 34 journalists have been killed since the start of the war.
Hatab, a correspondent for Palestine TV, was laid to rest in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. Several journalists including the deputy head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Tahseen Al-Astal, participated in the funeral. Astal called for international protection for journalists covering the war, the Palestinian Authority’s WAFA news agency reported.
Palestine TV is a broadcaster also run by the PA, a rival of Hamas.
