Mohammed Abu Daqqa, a 25-year-old freelance Palestinian journalist who contributed to the local Al-Hadath newspaper, was killed in an Israeli drone strike on Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Monday, July 29, 2024, according to multiple news reports, SKeyes and people who spoke to CPJ.
Abu Daqqa was a practicing lawyer in addition to his freelance journalistic work. The father of two girls, he started working as a freelancer the year before his 2020 graduation from the law faculty at the Islamic University in Gaza City. He was killed while reporting on the war in Khan Yunis city, according to SKeyes.
CPJ emailed the Israel Defense Forces’ North America Media Desk in late September 2024, asking for comment on the killing of Abu Daqqa. 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.