Al Jazeera on Sunday rejected Israeli military allegations that one of its cameramen killed in Gaza was a Hamas operative. It described the accusations as baseless and part of a campaign to justify attacks on journalists in the Palestinian enclave.
The Israeli military said late on Saturday that cameraman Ahmed Wishah was killed in a “precise strike” alongside two Hamas militants, alleging that he had served as a sniper in the group’s armed wing while working as a journalist.
The military did not provide evidence to support the claim.
In a statement, the Qatar-based broadcaster condemned what it called “baseless accusations” against Wishah and accused Israel of attempting to justify the killing of Al Jazeera journalists and cameramen in Gaza.
“These attempts deceive no one,” the network said, describing the allegations as part of a broader smear campaign against its staff.
Al Jazeera reported on Saturday that Wishah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
Footage from Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah showed family members and colleagues mourning beside Wishah’s body. Bilal Abu Samak, a freelance journalist in Gaza, said the killing had left him shocked.
“For the first time, I found myself unable to film,” he said, accusing Israeli forces of deliberately targeting journalists covering events on the ground.
Ahmed Wishah’s brother, Mohammed Wishah, who also worked as a journalist for Al Jazeera, was killed by Israeli shelling in April, according to the broadcaster.
Media rights group Reporters Without Borders says more than 220 journalists have been killed since the Gaza war began, with at least 70 killed while carrying out their professional duties.
The Israeli military has repeatedly said it does not deliberately target journalists.