Israeli army kills 2 journalists, attacks Red Cross office in Gaza

The Israeli army killed two Palestinian journalists in two separate attacks in the Gaza Strip on Monday, reported Xinhua, quoting Palestinian sources.

Mohammad Mansour, a correspondent for Palestine Today, was killed along with his wife and children in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his apartment in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, the unnamed sources said.

In another attack, Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher channel, was killed in an Israeli airstrike east of Jabalia, northern Gaza, the sources added.

The Hamas-run Gaza media office "condemned in the strongest terms the targeting and killing of journalists by the Israeli occupation" in a statement, calling on the international community to denounce "these systematic crimes against Palestinian journalists and media professionals in Gaza."

The Israeli army has not issued any official comment on the two attacks.

With the deaths of Mansour and Shabat, the number of journalists killed since the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023 has risen to 208, according to figures from the media office.

Also on Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a press release published on its website that its office in southern Gaza's Rafah was damaged by a projectile, stressing the office has been "clearly marked" and its location has been "notified to all parties."

The ICRC noted that no staff were injured in this incident, but its operation has been impacted. It strongly decried attacks against its premises, urging for the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers.

On the same day, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it follows "with serious concern" the expansion of the ongoing Israeli ground invasion of Gaza, warning of the mobilization of more Israeli forces and military equipment near the enclave for the war.

In a statement, the ministry said the escalation coincides with the closure of crossings, the blockade of aid, and the targeting of civilians.

Israel resumed strikes in Gaza on March 18 after a ceasefire with Hamas that began on Jan. 19 unraveled. Israeli forces subsequently launched ground operations across southern, northern, and central Gaza. The death toll from this new escalation has topped 730, raising the total number of deceased since October 2023 to 50,082, the Gaza-based health authorities reported on Monday.

The Israeli military acknowledged on Monday that it mistakenly struck a building belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza due to misidentification.

Israeli military forces operating in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza, fired at the building after "identifying suspects inside who they perceived as a threat," a military statement said.

A subsequent inspection revealed the identification was incorrect, and the troops "were unaware of the building's affiliation" with the ICRC at the time of the shooting, the statement said.