Israeli strikes across Gaza on Saturday, June 20, killed at least six Palestinians, including two children and an Al Jazeera cameraman, according to Palestinian health officials.
The deadliest strike hit a house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, killing three people, among them Ahmed Samir Muhammad Washah, a cameraman for Al Jazeera Mubasher.
Al Jazeera confirmed his death and condemned the strike as a deliberate attack on journalists.
The Israeli military said it carried out a precise strike on Washah, asserting he was a member of Hamas’ military wing who had worked as a sniper operative.
Israel Says Journalist Was Hamas Operative Involved in Attacks
The IDF claimed he had been advancing plans for attacks against Israeli troops in the area. It said two other Hamas operatives were killed in the same strike.
Washah’s brother, Mohammed Samir Washah, an Al Jazeera correspondent, was killed in an Israeli strike in April.
The IDF had made similar claims about him at the time, alleging ties to Hamas weapons activities. Both Al Jazeera and the family denied those accusations.
Palestinian medical sources said the strike in Bureij occurred without warning. Bodies were taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital.
Al Jazeera described the killing as part of a pattern targeting its staff. The network said it brings the number of its journalists and media workers killed in Gaza since October 2023 to 12.
Details of the Airstrike That Hit the Al-Safadi Family Home
Earlier in the day, another Israeli strike hit an apartment in Gaza City around 2 a.m. Four members of the Al-Safadi family died, including two sisters: 4-year-old Zina and 14-year-old Lana.
Their bodies were brought to Shifa Hospital, where family members gathered around white body bags, as they took pictures of the two kids.
A cousin, Mohammad Safadi, was wounded in the head. He told reporters he was sitting at home when the rocket struck. “I never held a weapon,” he said. “We are civilians.”
A third strike targeted people in the Muwasi tent camp in southern Gaza, killing one person and wounding eight others, according to Nasser Hospital.
The Israeli military said it was looking into some of the incidents. It maintains that its operations target Hamas militants who continue to pose threats, even under the ceasefire that took hold in October 2025. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since then.
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Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is run by the Hamas-led government, says more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the truce began.
It puts the overall death toll from the war that started on Oct. 7, 2023, at more than 73,000. The ministry does not separate civilians from fighters in its counts but says women and children make up about half the fatalities.
United Nations agencies and independent experts have often described its figures as generally reliable.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel’s response caused widespread destruction in Gaza.
Palestinian officials and rights groups have accused Israel of repeated violations of the ceasefire during the deadly strikes on Saturday.
Israel says it only reacts to constant threats from militants hidden among civilians.
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A somber mood prevailed at the Shifa Hospital’s morgue as relatives waited to collect the bodies of their loved ones.
Al Jazeera called for international protection for journalists and accountability for the latest killing. The network said targeting media workers aims to silence reporting from the ground.
The IDF has not released public evidence of Washah’s alleged activities in its initial statement on Saturday.
In past cases involving the brother and other journalists, the military shared what it described as seized documents, photos or intelligence linking individuals to Hamas operations.
Al Jazeera and Hamas have consistently rejected such claims.
Independent verification of dual roles remains difficult in the closed environment of Gaza, where access for outside investigators is limited.
