[News] Al Jazeera refutes ‘baseless’ Israeli allegations against Ismail al-Ghoul

[Anti-Imperialist News]

*Al Jazeera refutes ‘baseless’ Israeli allegations against Ismail al-Ghoul*

*During its war on Gaza, Israel has claimed its bombings of journalists and
civilian targets were strikes against Hamas.*
[image: Mourners and colleagues holding 'press' signs surround the body of
Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, killed along with his
cameraman Rami al-Refee in an Israeli strike during their coverage of
Gaza's Al-Shati refugee camp, on July 31, 2024. - Al Jazeera condemned the
killing of two of its journalists, calling the deaths a "cold-blooded
assassination" in a statement. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)]
Mourners and colleagues holding 'press' signs surround the body of
Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul in Gaza on July 31, 2024 [Omar
Al-Qatta/AFP]
By Al Jazeera Staff
<https://www.aljazeera.com/author/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458>
Published On 1 Aug 2024 -
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/1/al-jazeera-refutes-baseless-israeli-allegations-against-ismail-al-ghoul
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Al Jazeera has “strongly” rejected “baseless” Israeli allegations that the
network’s correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul
<https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/8/1/dear-ismail-al-ghoul-the-world-has-forgotten-us-we-wont-forget-you>,
who was killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza, was a Hamas operative.

The Doha-based network said on Thursday that the accusation, which Israel
presented without proof, is an attempt to justify the “deliberate killing”
of al-Ghoul and his companion cameraman, Rami al-Rif

The two journalists
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/31/al-jazeera-journalist-cameraman-killed-in-gaza-attack>
were killed in a direct Israeli air raid on their vehicle in the Shati
refugee camp in northern Gaza on Wednesday.

Al Jazeera Media Network said the accusation against al-Ghoul “highlights
Israel’s long history of fabrications and false evidence used to cover up
its heinous crimes”, underscoring that the country has barred international
journalists from entering Gaza.

“Furthermore, the Israeli occupation forces had previously abducted Ismail
on March 18, 2024, during their raid on al-Shifa Hospital, detaining him
for a period of time before his release, which debunks and refutes their
false claim of his affiliation with any organisation,” the network added.

The slain correspondent said at that time that Israeli forces detained him
with other journalists and forced them to lie on their stomachs as they
were blindfolded and had their hands tied for several hours.
Video Duration 2 minutes 36 seconds 2:36

“Ismail joined Al Jazeera in November 2023, dedicating all his time and
effort to covering the war on Gaza, documenting the Israeli forces’
atrocities in Gaza City and reporting the untold suffering of Palestinians
in Gaza,” Al Jazeera Media Network said on Thursday.

“Al Jazeera Media Network calls for an independent international
investigation into the brutal and heinous crimes committed by the Israeli
occupation forces against its journalists and staff since the beginning of
the war on Gaza.”

In its statement, the Israeli army appeared to confirm that it deliberately
targeted al-Ghoul, boasting that the journalist has been “eliminated”.

“As part of his role in the military wing, al-Ghoul instructed other
operatives on how to record operations and was actively involved in
recording and publicizing attacks against [Israeli] troops,” the Israeli
military said.

“His activities in the field were a vital part of Hamas’s military
activity.”

Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza, Israel has alleged – mostly without
evidence – that its attacks on Palestinians are part of the campaign
against Hamas.

The Israeli military has bombed schools
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/8/1/israel-war-on-gaza-live-fears-of-regional-war-after-israeli-assassinations>,
hospitals and displaced people’s camps, claiming that it was targeting
Hamas fighters. Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza has killed at least 39,480
Palestinians and reduced large parts of the besieged territory to rubble.

When Israel killed Hamza Dahdouh
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/7/hamza-son-of-al-jazeeras-wael-dahdouh-killed-in-israeli-attack-in-gaza>,
the eldest son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief and a journalist himself,
in January, it also accused him of being part of Hamas – an allegation
rejected by the network and press freedom groups.

Hamza Dahdouh was killed alongside fellow journalist Mustafa Thuraya.

Israel had provided contradicting justifications for that attack.
Initially, it claimed that it struck Dahdouh and Thuraya for using a camera
drone, assuming that they posed a threat to Israeli forces. Dahdouh and
Thuraya wore vests clearly identifying them as press.
Video Duration 28 minutes 00 seconds 28:00

Again in February, Israel claimed without evidence that Al Jazeera Arabic
correspondent Ismail Abu Omar
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/13/journalists-including-al-jazeera-reporter-injured-in-israel-gaza-strike>
was a Hamas operative after targeting him with an attack that severely
injured him.

At that time Al Jazeera rejected and condemned the allegation, recalling
Israel’s long history of attacking the network and its journalists.

Israeli forces had killed the Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/16/israeli-forces-killed-abu-akleh-without-justification-un-inquiry-says>
in the West Bank in 2022 and the network’s cameraman Samer Abudaqa
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/15/al-jazeera-condemns-israeli-forces-killing-of-cameraman-samer-abu-daqqa>
in Gaza in December 2023.

Israel, which banned
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/6/israel-bans-al-jazeera-what-does-it-mean-and-what-happens-next#:~:text=Why%20did%20Israel%20shut%20down,them%20a%20threat%20to%20security.>
Al Jazeera in the country earlier this year, had also bombed a tower
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/15/building-housing-al-jazeeera-office-in-gaza-hit-by-israeli-strike>
housing the network’s offices in Gaza in 2021.

Israel has killed 165 journalists in Gaza since the beginning of the war,
according to the Gaza Government Media Office.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders
have condemned the killing of al-Ghoul and al-Rifi.

“Journalists are civilians and should never be targeted. Israel must
explain why two more Al Jazeera journalists have been killed in what
appears to be a direct strike,” CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement
on Wednesday.
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