The three journalists worked for a committee supervising Egyptian aid in Gaza and were documenting a newly set-up camp.
At least 11 Palestinians, including two children and three journalists, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since dawn, with six others injured, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Munir al-Bursh, director-general of the ministry, told media that the photojournalists killed when their vehicle was struck on Wednesday worked for the Egyptian Committee for Gaza Relief, which supervises Egypt’s relief work in Gaza.
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Anas Ghunaim, Abdul Ra’ouf and Shaath Mohammad Qeshta were documenting developments on the ground in central Gaza near the so-called Netzarim Corridor when they were hit in an Israeli strike, colleagues and medical officials told media. A fourth person was also killed in the attack, an media team on the ground reported.
Video footage circulating online showed their charred, bombed-out vehicle by the roadside, smoke still rising from the wreckage.
Mohammed Mansour, the committee’s spokesman, told The Associated Press news agency that the journalists were filming a newly established displacement camp. He said the strike occurred about 5km (3 miles) from Israeli-controlled territory and that the vehicle was known to the Israeli military as belonging to the Egyptian committee.
Israeli Army Radio, citing an Israeli security source, said that the Israeli Air Force had targeted a vehicle in central Gaza, claiming that its occupants were using a drone to collect intelligence on army forces.
Three killed from single family
In a separate attack in central Gaza, three other Palestinians from a single family – including a child – were killed in eastern Deir el-Balah, sources at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital told media.
The victims were a father, his son and another relative, the sources said.
In southern Gaza, a 13-year-old was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers, an media team on the ground reported.
The Associated Press reported, quoting hospital staff, that the child was shot while collecting firewood in the eastern town of Bani Suheila.
In footage circulated online, the boy’s father could be seen weeping over his son’s body on a hospital bed.
A 32-year-old woman was shot and killed in a separate attack in the vicinity of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, an media team reported.
Two other Palestinians were killed in attacks in the north of the strip, the Wafa news agency reported.
Repeated ceasefire violations
Palestinian officials said Israel has repeatedly violated the United States-brokered ceasefire since it came into effect on October 10.
Israel continues to restrict the entry of food, medical aid and shelter materials into Gaza, where about 2.2 million people face acute humanitarian need in cold weather, barely shielded by flimsy tents.
Israel still has military control of large swaths of Gaza, including much of the south, east and north, according to Israeli military data, but, in effect, occupies the entire territory.
