Link: https://cpj.org/2025/03/cpj-denounces-israels-killing-of-2-more-gaza-journalists-in-return-to-war/

Hossam Shabat was a 23-year-old Palestinian journalist. He worked as a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher and contributed to Drop Site News. He was one of the few journalists who remained in northern Gaza to document the destruction.

On March 24, 2025, he was killed by an Israeli airstrike on his car near Beit Lahia. This happened after Israel resumed airstrikes, ending the ceasefire established in January 2025. Another journalist, Mohammed Mansour, was also killed on the same day.

In October 2024, the Israeli military accused Shabat and five other Al Jazeera journalists of being members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Shabat denied this. He called the accusations fabricated evidence designed to make him a killable target. Al Jazeera called the evidence fabricated. An investigation by Reporters Without Borders found that the documents published by the Israeli military severely lacked proof that the journalists were affiliated with any military group. RSF said the accusations in no way granted a license to kill.

The Israeli military later acknowledged that it had deliberately targeted Shabat. It claimed, without providing verifiable evidence, that he was a Hamas sniper. Witnesses reported that the attack appeared to be targeted.

An investigation by +972 Magazine revealed that the Israeli military runs a unit called the Legitimization Cell. This unit works to identify journalists in Gaza that it can depict as undercover Hamas operatives to render them legitimate targets to kill. This is part of a pattern of targeting journalists to stifle media coverage.