Sunday, 5th April 2026
Khabor Wala Desk
Published: 25th March 2025, 8:54 AM
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, 25 March 2025 (BSS/AFP) – An Israeli air strike on Monday claimed the life of a journalist working with Al Jazeera, as the military issued fresh evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza, intensifying its bombardment and ground operations in the besieged territory.
Israel resumed large-scale airstrikes last Tuesday, followed by ground incursions, after negotiations for an extended ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas collapsed.
On Monday evening, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued an “early warning before a strike” targeting the northern area of Jabalia.
“Terrorist organisations are once again launching rockets from densely populated areas… For your safety, move south towards designated shelters immediately,” Adraee stated on X, issuing similar evacuation warnings for Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun.
Earlier in the day, Gaza’s civil defence agency confirmed that an Israeli drone strike killed Hussam Shabat, a journalist affiliated with Al Jazeera Mubasher, near a petrol station in Beit Lahia.
Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson for the agency, reported that more than ten vehicles, including Shabat’s, had been targeted in multiple locations across Gaza.
“Journalist Hussam Shabat was martyred in an Israeli strike on his car in northern Gaza,” Al Jazeera Mubasher announced, referring to its Arabic-language live broadcast channel.
Footage captured by AFPTV at the scene in Beit Lahia depicted Palestinians gathering around Shabat’s car, which bore an Al Jazeera sticker on its windscreen. Nearby, a body lay motionless on the ground.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists had reported that, in October, Israel’s military accused Shabat and five other Palestinian journalists of having militant ties—allegations Shabat strongly denied.
Hundreds attended his funeral at Beit Lahia’s Indonesian Hospital, where prayers were held over his body, still clad in a press flak jacket. Grief-stricken relatives and colleagues carried his body through streets lined with makeshift shelters for displaced civilians.
In a separate airstrike in southern Gaza, Muhammad Mansour, a media worker with the Islamic Jihad-affiliated Palestine Today TV, was also killed, according to the civil defence agency.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the deaths of Shabat and Mansour, labelling them “another crime in Israel’s record of terrorism.” The organisation stated that over 206 journalists and media workers had been killed since the war began on 7 October 2023.
The 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel resulted in 1,218 deaths, primarily civilians, according to Israeli figures. In response, Israel’s military campaign has claimed at least 50,082 lives in Gaza, predominantly civilians, as per the Hamas-run health ministry.
The ministry reported that 730 people had been killed since Israel resumed bombardments on 18 March, including 57 in the past 24 hours.
Hamas militants also seized 251 hostages on 7 October, with 58 still in Gaza. The Israeli military claims 34 of them are dead.
On Monday, Hamas’s armed wing released a video featuring two Israeli hostages—identified as Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim Ohana—describing their ordeal amid intensified Israeli strikes.
Bohbot’s family issued a statement appealing to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump for action.
“Imagine this was your son, your grandchild’s father, waiting to see daylight, hearing Israeli bombs, and living in constant fear for his life,” the statement read. “We want Elkana home alive, and we demand the return of all hostages.”
Israel’s military reported intercepting three projectiles launched from Gaza on Monday evening. Both Hamas and its ally, Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for rocket attacks on Israel.
Additionally, Israel intercepted a missile from Yemen—the sixth such attack since the renewed hostilities. The Yemeni Houthi rebels later claimed responsibility for launching two missiles, stating they would continue targeting Israel “until the aggression stops and the blockade on Gaza is lifted.”
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi-affiliated Saba news agency reported 12 US airstrikes in northwest Yemen, with two injuries at Al-Rasoul Al-Aazam Hospital.
In Gaza, the municipality of Rafah issued a distress call on Monday, warning that “thousands of civilians” were “trapped under heavy Israeli shelling” in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood.
With all communication cut off and the local healthcare system in “complete collapse,” the situation for civilians remains dire.
On Sunday, the Israeli military announced it had encircled Tal al-Sultan, claiming operations were underway to “dismantle terrorist infrastructure and eliminate” militants.
Additionally, Israel’s defence ministry revealed plans to establish an administration dedicated to the “voluntary departure of Gaza residents to a third country,” a move that has sparked outrage from Egypt.
Egypt, which shares a border with both Gaza and Israel, strongly condemned the initiative, calling it an unacceptable displacement policy.
Supplementary Context:
This latest escalation underscores the fragile nature of ceasefire negotiations and the devastating humanitarian toll of the ongoing conflict. The targeting of journalists raises serious concerns about press freedom and the ability of reporters to document events on the ground.
The war has also strained regional stability, drawing in armed groups beyond Gaza, including Yemen’s Houthis and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as provoking international scrutiny of Israel’s military tactics.
With no clear resolution in sight, the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen, leaving civilians in Gaza with dwindling options for safety, and international diplomatic efforts struggling to halt the bloodshed.
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