BETHLEHEM (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) assaulted a number of Palestinian journalists after storming al-Deheisha refugee camp, south of Bethlehem in the West Bank, on Wednesday evening.
The Asra Media Office said that Israeli soldiers detained and assaulted journalists Khaled Abu Aisha, Muaad Amarneh, and Aya Ramadan who were covering the IOF raid in al-Deheisha camp.
Asra Media explained that Israeli soldiers stole Abu Aisha’s wallet and smashed journalist Amarneh’s cellphone during their coverage of the raid.
Earlier, a large number of Israeli troops stormed al-Deheisha camp in Bethlehem and broke into and ransacked homes during their two-hour raid.
The IOF also delivered written ultimatums, threatening the Palestinians in the camp with a fate similar to that of the northern West Bank refugee camps, where families were forcibly displaced and homes were destroyed.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said a record number of journalists were killed globally in 2024, with Israel responsible for nearly 70 percent of the deaths.
In a recent report, CPJ said at least 124 journalists were killed in 18 countries in 2024, amounting to the deadliest year for reporters and media workers since the committee started recording the numbers more than three decades ago.
CPJ said that 85 journalists were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year and accused Israel of attempting to stifle investigations of killing incidents, shift blame onto journalists and ignore its obligations to hold people to account for the killings.
CPJ added that 180 journalists and media workers had been killed by Israel in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023, while the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said that Israeli forces had killed over 200 journalists and media workers since the beginning of the war.
Another recent US report from Brown University’s Costs of War Project said that the Israeli war on Gaza had killed more journalists than the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the wars in Yugoslavia, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan combined.
As of March 26, at least 232 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Costs of War Project.
