Ayman Al Gedi, a Palestinian journalist and camera operator for Al-Quds Al-Youm TV, was one of five journalists killed in a December 26, 2024 strike on their vehicle outside Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. The Associated Press reported that footage showed the van had visible press markings.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said that intelligence from multiple sources – including a list found during an operation in Gaza – had confirmed that those killed were Islamic Jihad operatives posing as journalists and that the Israeli military had taken “many steps” before the raid “to reduce the possibility of civilian casualties, including the use of precision munitions, aerial reconnaissance and other intelligence information.” The IDF did not provide any evidence to substantiate its claims.
In June 2026, CPJ undertook a review of its documentation of journalists and media workers killed in the Israel-Gaza war since 2023.
After conducting desk research and speaking to two independent sources who knew the journalist and were familiar with his work, CPJ found no credible evidence linking Al Gedi to armed military groups or that he participated in combat.
The sources confirmed that he worked as a camera operator throughout the latest war in Gaza.
The review confirmed that Al Gedi should remain classified as a journalist under the organization’s methodology, and CPJ has retained him in its 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.
The other journalists killed alongside Al Gedi were correspondent Faisal Abu Al Qumsan, producer Ibrahim Sheikh Ali, camera operator and video editor Fadi Hassouna, and editor Mohammed Al-Ladaa.
Al-Quds Al-Youm said in a December 26 statement that the five were killed as they carried out their “media and humanitarian duty.”
Talal Al Arrouqi, a correspondent for privately owned Qatari-based broadcaster Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent, told CPJ that he was sleeping in the hospital corridors when they heard an explosion around 1:30 a.m. “When we went out, we found a huge fire in the Al-Quds Al-Youm satellite channel’s broadcast vehicle. There was only a wall separating us. We tried to put out the fire, but we failed.”
Al Arrouqi said that it was common for their Al-Quds Al-Youm colleagues to sleep in their vehicle. “We found their bodies charred, and some of their limbs had been severed.”
CPJ did not receive a response to its December 26, 2024, email to the IDF’s North America Media desk asking whether the journalists were targeted for their work or whether there was any evidence that they were militants.