Israel’s Silence on Journalist Deaths Signals Shift in Military Messaging
September 8, 2025
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September 9, 2025
September 08, 2025 – Palestine –
Palestinian photojournalist Osama Ahmed Balousha was tragically killed early on Monday, 8 September 2025, when an Israeli airstrike struck his family home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City. Local authorities confirmed his death in what has become yet another loss amid a relentless assault on reporters in Gaza. With Osama’s passing, the number of journalists killed since October 2023 has surged to 250.
Osama’s death underscores the perils Palestinian journalists endure daily. As Israel continues to bar foreign media from entering Gaza, local journalists—like Osama—have remained the few direct channels conveying the conflict’s realities to the outside world. The Federation of News Agencies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed deep concern over the mounting assassinations of Palestinian press members by Israeli forces. The federation condemned the killings as gross violations of international laws and media freedoms, accusing Israel of suppressing dissent and deliberately silencing the truth.
Since the onset of Israel’s full-scale military campaign in October 2023, the Gaza Ministry of Health reports that at least 64,455 Palestinians—predominantly women and children—have been killed. Against this deadly backdrop for civilians, local media professionals like Osama face extraordinary threats. His death adds to a grim tally of journalists killed across Gaza.
Osama Ahmed Balousha’s death is part of a broader pattern: journalists in Gaza are repeatedly and increasingly targeted, with their homes, offices, and makeshift media shelters often hit. Despite calls from international bodies and media rights groups, accountability remains elusive.
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