Mohammed Manhal Abu Armana, a Palestinian journalist and photographer for the local pro-Hamas news agency Palestine Now, was killed in Israeli drone strike on the al-Mawasi area west of Khan Yunis, on July 13, 2024, according to multiple media reports, a friend, and his uncle, who spoke to CPJ.
Abu Armana was capturing pictures of the casualties and aid work after Israeli airstrikes killed displaced Palestinians living in tents in al-Mawasi, a coastal southern Gaza area designated a humanitarian zone, when a missile from an Israeli drone killed him instantly.
His friend, freelance photographer Firas Abu Sharkh, was injured in the same incident. Abu Sharkh told CPJ by phone that they were on location during the bombing of the “safe zone.”
CPJ emailed the Israel Defense Forces’ North America Media Desk in late September 2024, asking for comment on the killing of Abu Armana. 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.