Al Jazeera journalist Hossam Shabat killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza: What to know
Two journalists were killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza on Monday amid Israel’s renewed offensive in the territory.
Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip Monday killed two journalists, Hossam Shabat and Mohammed Mansour, according to confirmations from their respective networks.
Shabat, a 23-year-old correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher, was hit by an airstrike while in his car in Beit Lahiya. Mansour, a correspondent for Palestine Today, was killed in an airstrike south of Khan Younis. Their deaths were confirmed by both Al Jazeera and Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Two journalists have been killed today in Gaza; Mohammed Mansour and Hossam Shabat. pic.twitter.com/UxMWXjxtDZ
— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) March 24, 2025
What happened: In a statement on Monday, the Hamas-affiliated government media office in Gaza said it “strongly condemns the targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation” and called on advocacy groups to stand against “systematic crimes against Palestinian journalists and media professionals in Gaza.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists also released a statement condemning the killing of the two Palestinian journalists, saying “the international community must act fast to ensure that journalists are kept safe and hold Israel to account for the deaths of Hossam Shabat and Mohammed Mansour. Journalists are civilians, and it is illegal to attack them in a war zone.”
Background: The CPJ estimates that over 170 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October 2023. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate previously reported that 206 journalists and other members of the press have been killed; today’s killings would bring that figure up to 208.
Among those journalists killed since 2023 were two other Al Jazeera journalists, Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi, who died in a strike near Gaza City in July 2024. In 2022, prior to the Israel-Hamas war, Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was shot in the head during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank. The Israeli military apologized for her death in 2023.
On March 18, Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas, carrying out a wave of airstrikes throughout Gaza. In addition to the airstrikes, Israel has deployed hundreds of troops into central Gaza, occupying at least half of the Netzarim Corridor. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he “warned Hamas that if it didn’t release our captives, we’d resume fighting — and we have.” Netanyahu said “this is just the beginning” of Israeli military action in Gaza.
Hamas said Israel had “decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement … exposing prisoners (hostages) in Gaza to an unknown fate.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on March 21 that if “Hamas continues to refuse to release the hostages, I have instructed the Israeli military to seize additional territories, while evacuating the population.”
Know more: According to Gaza's Health Ministry, as of March 23, Israel’s renewed operations in the Strip have killed 673 people.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Monday — citing security sources — that Egypt has put forward a new proposal to restore the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The proposal would see Hamas release five Israeli hostages per week while Israel implemented the second phase of the ceasefire after the first week and also released Palestinian prisoners, Reuters reported.
Fifty-nine hostages remain in Hamas custody in Gaza, with fewer than half reported to be alive, Israeli media reported. Both the United States and Hamas have reportedly responded positively to Egypt’s plan, but Israeli officials have told multiple outlets that they have not yet seen the proposal.
