Anadolu cameraman killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza

By Mehmet Nuri Ucar and Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – Montaser Al-Sawaf, an Anadolu freelance cameraman reporting in Gaza on Friday, was killed in Israeli airstrikes, newly resumed after a one-week pause.

"Sawaf, his brother Mervan, and other family members were martyred during Israeli airstrikes in the Ed-Durc neighborhood of southern Gaza," Hassan Ismameh, the journalist's cousin, told Anadolu.

After being seriously injured in the bombing, Al-Sawaf had to wait for an ambulance for about half an hour, he added. Al-Sawaf was eventually transported to the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital by private vehicle after no medical teams arrived, said Ismameh.

Al-Sawaf, along with his brother and other relatives killed in Israel's attack, was laid to rest in the city's al-Batsh cemetery.

- Anadolu President & CEO offers condolences

Serdar Karagoz, Anadolu's President & CEO, conveyed his condolences in a statement, also decrying how, to date, 71 journalists have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza.

"At Anadolu, we are fighting to ensure the safety of our colleagues who are carrying out their duties under extremely difficult conditions in Gaza with great dedication," Karagoz said.

"On behalf of all our colleagues who lost their lives in the attacks by the Israeli government in Gaza, including our agency's freelancer Montaser Al-Sawaf, we will continue our fight for those responsible for these attacks to be held accountable under international law," he added.

Karagoz extended his condolences to all the journalists who have lost their lives in Gaza, expressing sympathy to their families.

"Today, the bombs launched by the Israeli government onto Palestine not only fall on Palestinian children, hospitals, schools, mosques, and churches but also on Western values, international law, human rights, and everything that stands for goodness," he said.

"It shatters these values, and the international community, which is supposed to uphold these values, is one of the main losers in Gaza."

Defying international calls for a cease-fire, the Israeli army announced Friday morning that it had resumed attacks in the Gaza Strip as a humanitarian pause that had been in place for a week came to an end.

The pause had begun early on Nov. 24 as part of an agreement between Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas to temporarily halt the fighting to allow the release of hostages and prisoners on both sides, as well as the delivery of aid.

More than 15,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7. Around 1,200 Israelis have also been killed, according to official estimates.