Targeting of Journalists During “Operation Summer Camps”

During “Operation Summer Camps,” journalists were targeted multiple times by Israeli forces, raising serious concerns about the safety of media professionals in conflict zones. On September 2, 2024, afternoon, the Israeli Army soldiers targeted a group of journalists, directly near the cinema roundabout in the center of Jenin, and their vehicles tried to trample a number of them

• A journalist at Al Jazeera Arabic has reported that Israeli forces made an Al Jazeera photographer delete an image taken at the entrance to Shuhada Street in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank.

• Earlier, the Palestinian news agency Wafa also reported that its photographer had his camera’s memory card seized by the Israeli army in Ramallah.

• Israeli bulldozers try to run over a Palestinian journalist Anas Hoshieh whilst he was covering the Israeli invasion of Jenin city.

Context : Israel has been conducting a widespread military operation across the occupied West Bank for the sixth consecutive day in which at least 30 Palestinians have been killed.

Journalists Injured in Kafr Dan: • Ayman Nubani and Mohammad Mansour, photojournalists working for the WAFA Agency, were injured in Kafr Dan after being directly targeted by Israeli gunfire. The two journalists were traveling in a car near Jenin when Israeli forces opened fire on them. They were attempting to reach an area in the village where Israeli forces had besieged a house for several hours.

• Ayman Nubani, who was injured by fragments, recounted, "We miraculously survived death... If we didn’t drive quickly, they would have killed us all," as reported by female journalist Shuruq As'ad, Director of the Palestine Journalism Hub and MCD Radio Correspondent in Palestine.

• Wafa photographer Ayman Al-Nubani told The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate that Israeli forces “directly targeted” seven journalists with live fire, journalists who were riding in three press vehicles and wearing press protection vests “We narrowly escaped death,” Al-Nubani explained. “If we hadn’t sped up a bit in our car, they would have killed us. It was a direct assassination attempt.”

• The photographer said he and his colleagues – Wafa photographer Mohammed Mansour, Raneen Sawafta with the Reuters news agency and freelance journalist Yazan Hamayel – were injured during the incident. Another reported name of injured journalist during the raid is Mujahid Al-Saadi.

• Journalist Raneen Sawafta, a cameraman, was injured by an Israeli bullet, and three of his colleagues were injured by fragments during the raid in Kafr Dan, Jenin.

• The WAFA correspondent reported that they fired at the journalists, which led to the injury of the journalist Shatha Hanaysha, and the director of the French agency Ronaldo with shrapnel from live bullets, while their vehicles tried to trample a group of them while performing their work, and threatened the press crews with fire, if they continued to be present in the place.** Journalist Shatha Hanaysha was injured by shrapnel in her leg**.One of the injured journalists is Shatha Hanaysha, who was present alongside martyred journalist Sherine Abu Aqla when an Israeli sniper shot her dead in the city of Jenin on May 11, 2022. https://wafa.ps/Pages/Details/102734

Additional Incident: • Jaraah Khalaf, one of the injured journalists, reported that he and other reporters were covering an Israeli siege on a house in Kafr Dan, near Jenin, when they came under direct Israeli fire. Khalaf emphasized that all journalists were clearly identified, wearing vests labeled with "PRESS" in English, and their vehicles also carried the same insignia. According to witnesses, Israeli army forces raided the town early Tuesday, besieging a house and demanding its occupants surrender via loudspeakers. The house was subsequently demolished by Israeli military bulldozers, with the Health Ministry reporting that a child and another Palestinian were injured during the raid.

Wider Targeting of Journalists:

• According to live footage, Israeli soldiers used machine guns, bulldozers, and grenades to target journalists in various locations, including Jenin, Nablus, and Kafr Dan. • On September more than 5 journalists, including Jarah Kalaf, a freelance Journalist, were injured by Israeli army fire in the West Bank. • An Israeli soldier opened fire at Palestinian journalists whilst they were covering the invasion of the occupation forces in Thenaba neighborhood in Tulkarm city. • On 3 September, The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate says Israeli forces are targeting journalists with live bullets in the town of Kfar Dan, west of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, reports the Wafa news agency. • The incidentS has caused widespread outrage and concern among media professionals and human rights advocates worldwide.

Medical Response:

• The Red Crescent reported that several Palestinian journalists were injured on Tuesday by Israeli military fire in Kafr Dan. • While two of the injured journalists were treated on the spot by company doctors, the other two were taken to the hospital for further treatment. • Al-Nubani added: “Ambulances arrived immediately, and we were transferred to Ibn Sina Governmental Hospital in Jenin, but Israeli forces intercepted us and obstructed the ambulances, … surrounding the hospital and subjecting us to an investigation while we were injured.”