UPDATE 2 - Despite ceasefire and Trump guarantees, Israel kills Palestinian journalist in Gaza

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Hosni Nedim, Betul Yilmaz and Rania Abu Shamala

GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL (AA) - A Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, despite a ceasefire agreement sponsored by US President Donald Trump.

Medical sources told Anadolu that photojournalist Mahmoud Wadi lost his life in an Israeli drone strike in central Khan Younis, an area that does not fall under the Israeli-controlled yellow zone.

Wadi’s father, Issam, described the Israeli strike as “an earthquake that struck the tent.”

“I never expected to lose Mahmoud, who was not just my son but a friend, as he grew up in a photography studio,” the grieved father told Anadolu.

"Mahmoud was photographing in a safe area (not under Israeli control according to the ceasefire agreement), but the Israelis respect no pledges or promises; their entire life is treachery and deceit,” he said.

- Criminal act

The Palestinian father called his son’s killing “a criminal act carried out by the Israeli occupation.”

“They (Israelis) will continue until destroying the whole world,” he said.

A colleague of the slain journalist, Muhammad Abu Ubaid, a correspondent for Al-Alam TV in Gaza, said Wadi was “known for his humanitarian work and helping people.”

“He may not be known to everyone, but the poor and afflicted know him well, because he devoted his time to assisting them,” he told Anadolu.

“Wadi was a pure-hearted person. I sat with him last night, we talked a lot, and he told me about his plans to raise his young son, who is his whole world."

"We had an appointment today at Nasser Hospital (in Khan Younis), but I found out he had been martyred," Abu Ubaid said in tears.

"The world is silent and watching, and the (Israeli) occupation continues to kill us and kill journalists despite the agreement."

- Systematic killing

Gaza’s Government Media Office said Wadi’s death brought the number of Palestinian journalists killed by Israel in Gaza to 257 since October 2023.

It decried Israel’s “systematic attacks and assassination of Palestinian journalists” and held Tel Aviv and the US administration, the UK, Germany, and France “fully responsible for committing these heinous and brutal crimes.”

The media office appealed to the international community and press organizations around the world to “condemn the Israeli occupation’s crimes.”

International media institutions have repeatedly called on Israel to stop fatal attacks on Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip, but Tel Aviv has ignored these appeals.

Palestinians see the deliberate targeting of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip as an attempt to cover up its atrocities in the territory.

The ceasefire deal took effect in Gaza on Oct. 10 under Trump’s Gaza plan, halting two years of Israeli attacks that have killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023.

Israel has repeatedly violated the agreement by opening fire on Palestinian civilians in areas it does not control under the deal, while the Palestinian group Hamas has announced its full commitment to the terms of the agreement and urged the US to pressure Israel to comply.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 356 Palestinians have been killed and more than 900 others injured in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire.