Gaza journalists mourn Al Jazeera’s Wishah, killed by Israel | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Gaza City, Gaza Strip – Just hours before his assassination, Mohammed Wishah, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher, was sitting with his fellow journalists in a tent near al-Shifa Hospital in central Gaza City.

The gathering on Wednesday was typical, bringing together colleagues who had become friends after working closely together for more than two years covering Israel’s genocidal war that had destroyed so much around them.

None of them knew it would be their last meeting.

As Wishah was driving his car south, heading back to his home in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, and along the al-Rashid coastal road, an Israeli drone fired a missile that directly struck his car.

Wishah was declared dead immediately; the vehicle had caught fire and turned into a mass of flames on the roadside.

Wishah’s killing came as a major shock to his fellow journalists in Gaza, who rushed to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah to bid him farewell and take part in his funeral.

During the funeral, which set off on Thursday morning from the hospital, dozens of journalists gathered to mourn Wishah alongside his family and relatives. A deep sorrow hung over the mourners, as well as an intense anger over the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza.

Wishah was born in 1986 in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. He studied, graduated, and worked as a journalist, then joined Al Jazeera Mubasher – Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language live television network – in 2018, where he remained until he was assassinated.

Talal al-Arouqi, a fellow correspondent with Al Jazeera Mubasher, said that he was extremely sad to lose Wishah as a colleague, as well as a friend.

“Mohammed was like a spiritual father to us here during the war in the Gaza Strip,” al-Arouqi told Al Jazeera. “We used to turn to him for every detail of the work and coverage.”

“We consulted him on everything, big and small, because he was sincere and kind. He was a colleague, a brother, a friend, and someone loved by everyone,” he added. “Everyone here loved Mohammed. Everyone here cried in grief and heartbreak over him. Everyone was devastated and shocked by the news of his killing.”

Al-Arouqi said that he believed Israel had deliberately targeted Wishah following an incitement campaign against him, similar to the ones that had taken place against fellow Al Jazeera journalists Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh before their killings, accusing them without basis of being members of Hamas.

Because of the incitement campaign by the Israeli army against Wishah, he was forced – during his war coverage – to stay away from his home and family, in addition to facing intense work pressure.

He would sleep in tents with other journalists and work long hours throughout the day. And he would have known the risks of working as a journalist in Gaza: authorities in the Palestinian enclave say that 262 media workers have been killed by Israel since the start of the war in October 2023.

Abdullah Miqdad, a correspondent for Al Araby TV in Gaza, was one of those who knew Wishah. He said Israel needs to be held accountable.

“These operations targeting journalists in Gaza would not have continued were it not for the absence of legal accountability and prosecution of Israel,” Miqdad said. “Today, we lost Mohammed Wishah. And he will not be the last.”

Miqdad called for international institutions to offer real protection for Palestinian journalists, in line with international humanitarian law, which guarantees the protection of journalists in conflict zones.

“Mohammed and other journalists are supposed to be protected under this law,” he said, “and there should be real action to protect them and prevent their targeting or harm under any circumstances.”

Al Jazeera journalists targeted

For Al Jazeera’s team in Gaza, Wishah’s death was the latest in a long line of tragedies.

Wishah is the 12th Al Jazeera journalist or media worker in Gaza to have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of the war. The others are Samer Abu Daqqa, Hamza al-Dahdouh, Ismail al-Ghoul, Ahmed al-Louh, Rami al-Rifi, Anas al-Sharif, Ibrahim al-Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Muhammad Qreiqeh, Muhammad Salama, and Hussam Shabat.

Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza organised a press vigil in front of the Al Jazeera tent near al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, condemning the killing of Wishah and other colleagues at the network.

Moamen al-Sharafi, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, eulogised Wishah’s long career, which included coverage of Israeli wars on Gaza, as well as repeated Israeli assaults, even as he endured the hardships of war, displacement, siege, and starvation.

“Mohammed’s banner has not fallen, nor that of his colleagues who came before him. It is the banner of truth that must continue,” al-Sharafi said.

“We affirm that assassinations and the liquidation of Palestinian journalists will not deter us from continuing this coverage, despite the risks and the extensive incitement campaigns led by the Israeli side and its forces against Palestinian journalists, especially those of Al Jazeera,” he added.

Hind Khoudary, a correspondent for Al Jazeera English, expressed her deep sorrow over Wishah’s loss, describing him as a “companion in the journey of displacement”.

“We worked together at al-Shifa Hospital at the beginning of the war, then after displacement, we moved to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which became our place of displacement and our second home,” Khoudary said.

“There were many daily details I shared with Mohammed… Mohammed Wishah was like a spiritual father to female journalists, especially those without their families,” she said. “He always looked after us and tried to provide everything, even when there was no food.”

“The loss of Mohammed is a huge loss… he was a humane and professional journalist,” Khoudary added. “We still cannot believe he was targeted while there is said to be a ceasefire, even as the killing and targeting continue.”