"Say hi to all my family. You're so luch my dear." A Palestinian mother who lost her entire family bids farewell to her martyred son, who was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a group of activists and journalists in the city of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip.

At midday, two successive Israeli drone airstrikes targeted a group of journalists and aid activists in Beit Lahia, killing the whole crew.

Context:

The crew worked with the Al-Khair Foundation, a UK-based emergency relief-focused international NGO. The crew were on their way to document charity operations consisting in setting up a camp for displaced Palestinians in Beit Lahia when Israel massacred them. The foundation confirmed that eight of its humanitarian aid workers were killed.

At first, two journalists (Mahmoud Slayem and Mhamoud Al-Sarraj) were targeted and killed. A drone chased the rest of the crew who were in their car, striking it and killing the rest.

The next morning, one of the injured victims succumbed to injuries, bringing the death toll to 10.

Testimonies

Witnesses testified that the crew were documenting charity efforts to erect tents for displaced families, a work that had been ongoing for 4 days at the time oft he massacre.

Al-Khair Foundation's director of international offices, Mohammed Abu Hasna shared with the Washington Post that the humanitarian workers were opening camps for the displaced when one of their vehicles was bombed, killing two photographers who were documenting the work, as the organization typically does. The organization then sent another car to evacuate the victims but “as soon as they got into the vehicle, they were targeted and all killed.” Thus, seven workers of the foundation were killed. Abu Hasna added that “the claim that they pose a threat to the army” was “nonsense and unrealistic.” noting that the IDF was at least four kilometers away.

Journalist Islam Bader reported in details how the crime unfolded in a report to Al Araby TV: "[...] a crew, including the journalists Mahmoud Sleem and Bilal Abu Matar, were operating a typical small-size drone to film a shelter that was being established in Beit Lahia. The IDF first targeted Mahmoud Sleem who was holding the drone controller, and followed with a second airstrike on the rest of crew who had moved from the area in car after carrying the martyrs. [...] The death toll is likely to increase as there is a number of injured being treated in the hospitals.

[...] This strike comes amid a concentration of Israeli strikes lately as Israel has been escalating its attacks by targeting border areas, as well as areas in the depth of Gaza where there is a dense population of Palestinians. It has been opening fire intensely from its vehicles positioned within the buffer zone inside Gaza, leading in martyrs, today eight, yesterday one person was killed on the shore as announced by the fishermen's syndicate. Also, three people were killed in the Zaytoun neighborhood to the east yesterday. Before that, five martyrs in Netzarim, four martyrs in Beit Hanoun, and so on. [There were also martyrs] in Khan Younis, in Al-Qarara, in Rafah to the south.

It has been clear that Israel has been amplifying [its attacks] athe same time that it announced blocking all flows of aid into Gaza over the past two weeks particularly, although this has been ongoing since the ceasefire started. As of now, over 150 martyrs were confirmed, excluding today's, as the pace of Israeli strikes has increased. Allow me also to highlight that the IOF has reccurently targeted Palestinian journalists who use drones for their documentation work. This has happened more than once during this war, leading to the killing and injury of a number of journalists. However, this is the first such case since the ceasefire."

Tribute

Today, the martyrs who were killed during the massacre, all from the Al-Khair Foundation, had planned to hand over the camp in Beit Lahia camp after they completed furnishing it with around 1,000 Turkish tents, along with the necessary infrastructure. They were working day and night to provide shelter for the people, protecting them from the cold and harsh winter.

Israeli propaganda debunked

The IDF's official account on X claimed the massacre as an attack on a "terrorist cell yesterday in the Beit Lahia area that also included a terrorist who infiltrated Israeli territory during the Oct. 7 massacre. The terrorists struck were operating a drone intended to carry out terrorist attacks against IDF troops operating in Gaza, the drone was consistently used by the Islamic Jihad Terrorist Organization." The post featured the following image and was quickly debunked by Palestinian journalists, activists and the Government Media Office as it contained several mistakes as to the identities of the victims. This casted serious doubts on the veracity of Israel's claims and intel:

• Bilal Abu Matar: wrong portrait and name
• Mahmoud Sleem: full name incorrect and belongs to another person who is still alive
• Suhaib Nagar: no such name among the crew that was killed
• Muhammad Al-Ghafir: incorrect name
• Mustafa Hammad: not among the victims

Names of the martyrs:

1. Bilal Abu Matar (journalist)
2. Mahmoud Samir Slayem (photojournalist)
3. Mahmoud Khaled Slayem
4. Mahmoud Yahya Al-Sarraj (photojournalist)
5. Hazem Gharib
6. Muhammad Al-Ghafir (field worker)
7. Bilal Hussam Akila (photographer)
8. Abu Hazem Sardah (driver)
9. Abu Sohaib Al-Najjar (spokesperson for the foundation)
10. Ahmad Abu Rawa' (succumbed to injuries on March 16)