Mohammed Al-Sakani, a 30-year-old Palestinian journalist and father of five who worked as a driver and in the logistics and studio installation department at Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al-Quds Al-Youm satellite channel, was killed near his home in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City, on July 4, 2024, when an Israeli drone targeted him, killing him instantly along with one of his friends, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes and news reports.
Mohammed’s brother, Ibrahim Al-Sakani, told CPJ: “Mohammed was with a number of his friends next to our house on Al-Sha’af Street, in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza, when an Israeli plane targeted them with a missile, which led to his martyrdom along with one of his friends.”
He added: “Because the neighborhood is close to dangerous areas east of Gaza, we were displaced more than once within Gaza City, and the last contact I had with Mohammed was one day before his martyrdom at the funeral of one of our relatives, and the danger was for everyone in Gaza City.”
Journalist Mahmoud Al-Awadhiya, a colleague and friend of Mohammed Al-Sakani’s, told CPJ: “He was at the peak of activity and hard work, to the point that he refused to leave the northern Gaza Strip for the southern one, and he remained consistent in his work at the channel.”
CPJ emailed the Israel Defense Forces’ North America Media Desk on January 3 asking whether the military knew civilians and journalists where in the areas it bombed and whether Al-Sakani was targeted for his work but didn’t immediately receive a response.