A journalist with Al Jazeera, Ismail Al-Ghoul, has been killed by the Israeli military during an airstrike against Palestines’ in Gaza.
Al-Ghoul is the second Al Jazeera journalist to be killed by the Israeli army during attacks to evict Palestines from Gaza and takeover the land.
The death of the journalist, meanwhile, has sparked controversies between the deceased’s employer and the Israel Government after the military alleged that he was a member of the Hamas group that its territory recently.
Al Jazeera, while demanding for a proof for the allegation made, noted that the claims made by the Israel government on the journalist’s death were strategy to coverup their act.
The deceased journalist’s employer, in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday, described the allegations as baseless and an attempt to justify the deliberate killing of its staff.
“The network condemns the accusations against its correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul, without providing any proof, documentation or video”, it added.
According to Al-Jazeerah, it reserved the right to take legal action against those responsible.
It was learnt that Al-Ghoul and the cameraman, Ramy El Rify, were killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza City while on an assignment to film near the house of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas chief killed in Iran earlier on the same day.
According to the Israeli military, Al-Ghoul was a member of the elite Nukhba unit who took part in the Oct. 7 attack and instructed Hamas operatives on how to record operations. It said he was involved in recording and publicizing attacks on Israeli troops.
“His activities in the field were a vital part of Hamas’ military activity,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
However, Al Jazeera stated that Al-Ghoul had worked for the network since November 2023 and his only profession was as a journalist.
It said he had been arrested and detained at Al-Shifa Hospital in the northern part of the Gaza Strip when it was taken by Israeli forces in March before being released, which it said “debunks and refutes their 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 heavily critical of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, has denied inciting violence.
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said the deaths of the two Al Jazeera crew raised to 165 the number of Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli fire since Oct 7.
