Five Journalists Among Dozens Killed as Israel Intensifies Gaza Bombardment

At least five journalists were killed in the past 24 hours as Israel stepped up its bombardment across Gaza, bringing the total number of media workers killed since October 7 to at least 158, according to Gaza's Government Media Office.

Three journalists - Amjad Jahjouh and Rizq Abu Ashkian from the Palestine Media Agency, and Wafa Abu Dabaan from the Islamic University Radio in Gaza - were killed in an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Abu Dabaan was married to Jahjouh, and their children were also killed in the attack that claimed at least 10 lives.

In a separate incident, Palestinian journalists Saadi Madoukh and Ahmed Sukkar were killed on Friday in an Israeli raid targeting a home in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called this the deadliest conflict for journalists since they began gathering data in 1992, with at least 108 media workers killed as of July 5.

The latest casualties add to a growing list of journalists killed in the conflict, including Al Jazeera journalist Hamza Dahdouh, son of the network's Gaza bureau chief, who was killed by an Israeli missile strike in Khan Younis in January.

The ongoing bombardment has led to a surge in civilian casualties across Gaza. The Ministry of Health reported that 87 people were killed across the enclave in the last 48 hours, bringing the total death toll to at least 38,098 since October 7, with more than 87,700 injured.

Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, noted a "surge in air attacks across the central area, the southern part of the Gaza Strip, and also in Gaza City's Shujayea neighbourhood in the north." He described heartbreaking scenes of parents mourning over the bodies of their children, a sight that has become a daily occurrence in the war-torn region.

The attacks have not spared humanitarian workers. A UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) employee was killed in an Israeli strike on the organization's warehouses north of the Maghazi camp in central Gaza. The worker was wearing a jacket clearly identifying him as UN staff.

In Rafah, at least six policemen were killed in an Israeli bombardment that hit their car in the Saudi neighbourhood, while another person was killed in a separate attack on a police car in the al-Shakoush area.

The intensification of Israeli attacks comes amid growing international concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The conflict, now in its ninth month, has displaced the majority of Gaza's population and led to severe shortages of food, water, and medical supplies.

As the death toll continues to rise, calls for a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution to the conflict have intensified. However, with the ongoing escalation of violence, the prospects for an immediate end to hostilities remain uncertain.

The international community continues to express alarm at the high number of civilian casualties, including journalists and aid workers, and urges all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law. As the conflict persists, the people of Gaza face an increasingly dire situation, with no clear end in sight to the violence and destruction that has engulfed their lives for nearly nine months.