Osama Balousha, a 30-year-old Palestinian photographer with Siraj Media Network — which has had its website shut down during the war but continued publishing on social media — was killed on September 7, 2025, when Israeli warplanes bombed his family home in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. His parents and three siblings also died in the strike, which came as Israeli forces intensified bombardment in northern Gaza, forcing residents to the south.
His outlet said in a statement that Balousha was killed during the “direct targeting” of his family home, holding Israel responsible for the attack.
“Osama worked with our network as a photographer before and after the beginning of the war. He was among the few who stayed in Gaza City and refused to evacuate to central or southern Gaza. He documented the bombings, the famine, and the suffering,” journalist Osama Lubbad, his friend and colleague, told CPJ.
“He endured hunger in Gaza City, but he stayed. He covered the crimes of the occupation and was the eyes of the world,” Lubbad said, noting Balousha regularly sent colleagues photos and videos from the field, particularly from his neighborhood.
The IDF’s North America Media Desk responded to a CPJ email seeking clarification on the September killings of Balousha and three other journalists — Islam Abed, Ayman Haniyeh, and Rasmi Jihad Salem — with a general statement saying it takes “all operationally feasible measures to mitigate harm to civilians including journalists” and that it “never deliberately targets journalists as such.”
Balousha was a graduate of Al-Aqsa University’s Faculty of Journalism and Media.