GAZA CITY, Palestine

The number of journalists killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023 has soared to 188, media office in the blockaded enclave said on Saturday.

While Israeli forces killed on Saturday two journalists in Gaza City, another two targeted earlier were identified by the authorities, the media office said in a statement.

Al-Zahraa Abu Sukheil and Ahmed Abu Sukheil, who worked for the News Media Network, were killed on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a school sheltering the displaced in Gaza City.

The other two were identified as Mustafa Bahar and Abdulrahman Bahar, who worked for local news agency Ajel Palestine. Mustafa, a reporter was killed on March 31 near the Kuwait Roundabout south of Gaza City, while Abdulrahman, a photographer, was killed on Oct. 6 in the Al-Karama neighborhood, northwest of Gaza City.

The media office condemned the targeting of Palestinian journalists, holding Israel fully responsible. It urged the international community to pressure Israel to stop the killing of media personnel.

Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, famine, displacement of population and destruction of buildings.

According to the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists, the Israeli war on Gaza has killed more journalists over the past year than any other conflict over the past three decades.

Overall, Israel has killed more than 43,000 people since the Hamas attacks last October, and rendered the enclave almost uninhabitable. It faces charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the territory.

* Writing by Rania Abu Shamala