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May 13, 2025 – Palestine/Israel –
Hassan Islayeh, a Palestinian journalist, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Gaza, marking another grave escalation in the targeting of media workers during the ongoing conflict. The journalist, who had previously been injured in an earlier attack, was reportedly undergoing care at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah when an Israeli missile struck the facility. The blast killed him and wounded several others, once again raising alarm over Israel’s conduct in its military operations and the safety of journalists in conflict zones.
The journalist, identified as being affiliated with local media outlets, had been documenting the war’s impact on civilians and infrastructure before being injured. His death inside a medical facility—normally protected under international humanitarian law—has sparked outrage and condemnation from press freedom organizations and humanitarian observers. The targeting of a hospital not only endangered patients and medical staff but also eliminated a voice dedicated to documenting the suffering on the ground.
This attack comes just as Israeli forces resumed strikes across Gaza following the release of an Israeli-American soldier held captive. The intensified bombing campaign, which Israel claims is part of its military objectives, has disproportionately affected civilians and infrastructure, including areas where journalists are known to seek refuge or treatment.
Media watchdogs and rights groups have called for independent investigations into the killing, asserting that such attacks on journalists are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern. According to the latest figures, more than 100 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the war escalated in October 2023, with many deaths occurring while they were on assignment or sheltering in civilian facilities.
The death of this journalist, wounded, hospitalized, and ultimately killed, underscores the increasing dangers faced by media workers in Gaza. His loss is not only personal to his community and colleagues but also a blow to the documentation of truth in a war where facts are already under siege.
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