Freelance photojournalist Ibrahim Hajjaj, 37, a contributor to Independent Arabia, was killed on July 30, 2025, in an Israeli drone strike near Al-Zahraa School in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in southeastern Gaza City.
Hajjaj was walking toward the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in central Gaza City, where he planned to continue his reporting work, when an Israeli drone targeted the area, killing him instantly.
His colleague at Independent Arabia, Mariam Abu Dagga, told CPJ: “Ibrahim worked with me as a contributing colleague at Independent Arabia. At around 2:45 p.m., the occupation [Israel] targeted residential areas in Gaza City, and Ibrahim happened to be walking nearby, which led to his immediate death.” (Abu Dagga was herself killed less than a month later in an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.)
Hajjaj’s brother Zaki told CPJ: “Ibrahim was standing with another person, an Israeli drone fired a single missile, killing him and his friend instantly.”
CPJ emailed the Israel Defense Forces’ North America Media Desk seeking comment on Hajjaj’s killing, but no response was received.