One day after two Al Jazeera reporters perished in an alleged Israeli car attack, the UN expressed alarm on Monday over the large number of journalists slain in the Gaza conflict.
On Sunday, Al Jazeera reported that two of its Palestinian journalists had been killed in the southern city of Rafah, in what it described as a "targeted killing" by the Israelis.
The UN rights office expressed its "great concern over the high death toll of media workers in Gaza" on X, the former Twitter platform.
"Killings of all journalists, including Hamza Wael Dahdouh and Mustafa Abu Thuria in reported IDF strike on car must be thoroughly, independently investigated to ensure strict compliance with international law, and violations prosecuted," it said.
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The network said that Hamza Wael Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuria, who AFP also employed and other news agencies as video stringers, were slain while "on their way to carry out their duty" for Al Jazeera in the Gaza Strip.
Hazem Rajab, a third freelance journalist, suffered critical injuries.
Two rockets were fired at the car, according to witnesses who spoke to AFP. One struck the front of the vehicle, and the other struck Hamza, seated next to the driver.
"We struck a terrorist who operated an aircraft that posed a threat to IDF troops," the Israeli army informed AFP, noting that it was also "aware of the reports that two other suspects who were in the same vehicle as the terrorist were also hit during the strike."
Since the start of the conflict, at least 79 journalists and media professionals the great majority of whom are Palestinian have died, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
Based on official Israeli figures, an AFP tally indicates that 1,140 people died in Israel as a result of the October 7 Hamas attack that started the war, the majority of whom were civilians.
The militants, who are regarded as "terrorist" by the US and the EU, also kidnapped about 250 hostages, 132 of whom are still detained, according to Israel. It's thought that at least 24 people have died.
At least 23,084 people have died as a result of Israel's ceaseless bombardment and ground invasion, the majority of whom were women and children, according to the most recent death toll released by the Gaza Health Ministry.
