On October 8, 2023, Assaad Shamlakh, a freelance reporter and co-founder of the Telegram news channel Riyaheen Al-Quds, was killed in an Israeli strike on his house in the Sheikh Ijlin neighbourhood in Gaza City.
Shamlakh was previously removed from CPJ’s database after the research team was unable to establish through independent sources that he was a journalist or media worker. Following a new search and a rigorous verification process in June 2026, desk research and two credible sources confirmed that he was an active journalist at the time of his death, and he was subsequently reinstated in CPJ’s database.
CPJ continues to investigate cases involving journalists killed in the Israel-Gaza war and routinely reviews and updates its documentation when credible new information becomes available.