Shareef Okasha, a 27-year-old Palestinian freelance photographer, was killed by shrapnel when an Israeli warplane fired at least three missiles that hit a house adjacent to the one his family were occupying after being displaced to Deir al Balah in central Gaza, at dawn on January 10, 2024, according to Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes and his sister, Shoroug Okasha, who spoke to CPJ.
Okasha had been covering the war as a freelancer with multiple media outlets, including Al Jazeera, Al Ghad, and Al Koofiya TV, his sister told CPJ. Hours before his death, the journalist had been happy about the news of a potential ceasefire in Gaza.
“He began documenting the joy of the displaced people and wanted to prepare to return to Jabalia camp, thinking the information was true,” said Shorouq Okasha. "He was also supposed to document the psychological support sessions that I give to the displaced in the city’s camps on Wednesday [the day he was killed].”
CPJ emailed the Israel Defense Forces’ North America Media Desk in late September 2024, asking for comment on the killing of Okasha. In an exchange that followed, the IDF asked CPJ for the journalists’ IDs and "relevant coordinates," which CPJ explained it could not provide due to research limitations. The IDF then said it could not fully address CPJ’s inquiry due to a lack of "sufficient details." The IDF said it takes "all operationally feasible measures" to prevent harm to journalists and other civilians, asserting that "many" on CPJ’s list were Hamas members and therefore lawful targets, but did not name the journalists or provide evidence they were Hamas fighters.