The head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Nasser Abu Bakr, said that the occupation deliberately targets journalists and local and international news agencies in the Gaza Strip.

Abu Bakr added – during a phone call to "Cairo News" channel on Friday evening – that the occupation targets journalists for transmitting scenes of the genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, explaining that journalists are a neutral party in conveying the truth.. and the occupation considers everyone who conveys the truth an enemy.

The head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate pointed out that the occupation army violates all international standards and treats journalists as if they are enemies, noting that the occupation’s targeting of journalists in Gaza will only increase their determination to convey the truth.

The head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate emphasized that the occupation received a mandate from the American administration to escalate the war in the Gaza Strip and target civilians, and the occupation’s targeting of journalists in Gaza will only increase their determination to convey the truth.

Abu Bakr's statements came as a comment on the martyrdom of Palestinian journalist Samer Abu Daqa today in an airstrike by the occupation’s drones on a school sheltering displaced persons in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, after the occupation forces left him bleeding for more than 5 hours.

Palestinian medical sources reported the martyrdom of Abu Daqa, the cameraman for Al Jazeera channel, and the injury of the channel’s correspondent and its Gaza bureau chief, journalist Wael Dahdouh, in his hand and wrist while covering the situation at Khan Yunis Secondary School for Girls (Farhana), after it was previously targeted by an Israeli attack this morning, noting that they were both wearing helmets and protective vests indicating they were journalists.

The sources indicated that three rescue team members were martyred, and several citizens and medical teams were also injured in the Israeli attack.

Journalist Wael Dahdouh was transferred to Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Yunis, where his condition was described as mild to moderate, while the medical teams and ambulances were unable to reach the injured journalist Abu Daqa due to the intense artillery shelling by the occupation on the school and its surroundings, the communication blackout, and he was left bleeding for more than 5 hours.

Later, the body of the martyr Abu Daqa was transferred to Nasser Medical Hospital.

With the martyrdom of journalist Abu Daqa, the number of journalist martyrs since the aggression began on October 7th has risen to about 75 journalists, including 9 female journalists, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate stressed its demands to all international media and human rights organizations to continue pursuing the Israeli army and government to stop their massacres against Palestinian journalists and to hold them accountable for these crimes.

A statement from the Syndicate's Freedoms Committee indicated that the occupation army killed about 75 colleagues in the Palestinian media sector through direct targeting, the latest being colleague Abu Daqa, either at their workplaces, offices, or homes.

The statement pointed to the extent of bloody injuries among journalists, including the incident targeting the Al Jazeera team today Friday, which led to the martyrdom of Abu Daqa and the serious injury of Dahdouh, who had shed tears on air when he received the news of the martyrdom of his family as a result of the occupation’s shelling of the house where they lived in Gaza.

It added that "the bloody scenes of journalists' bodies that must be protected under international laws and regulations here are violated due to the arrogance of the occupation that acts as if it is above all international laws and charters," pointing to the fierce onslaught by the occupation forces on journalists in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, ongoing assaults, prevention from coverage, detention of crews, and arrests.

The statement touched on the martyrdom of 6 journalists since the beginning of this month, where Al Mayadeen channel correspondent journalist Abdel Karim Odeh was previously martyred due to shelling on the Nuseirat camp, and sports cameraman journalist Mohammed Abu Samra was martyred due to the continuous occupation shelling on the Gaza Strip; he had lost his twin brother as a martyr a few days ago.

Also, journalist Ola Attallah was martyred along with eight family members after an Israeli attack on a relative’s house where she and her family had taken refuge; she worked as a correspondent for many international and local agencies in the Gaza Strip. The journalist and lecturer at the Faculty of Media at Al-Aqsa University, Adham Hassouna, was martyred by the occupation’s warplanes bombing his home in Al-Shujaiya east of Gaza City, and photographer Montaser Al-Sawwaf was martyred in an Israeli strike in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, and Al-Aqsa TV photographer Abdullah Darwish was martyred in an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip.

In his first comment, Wael Dahdouh, the channel’s correspondent, said: We were targeted while accompanying an ambulance, which had coordination to evacuate a besieged family.

Dahdouh added: We tried through the coordination granted to the ambulance to film scenes in the area, and after we finished, a missile ambushed us, and he continued: I walked hundreds of meters after being injured trying to stop the bleeding until I reached paramedics.