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    Belal Jadallah, the “godfather of Palestinian journalism,” has been killed in Gaza.

    Dan Sheehan
    By 
    November 20, 2023, 3:56pm

    Belal Jadallah, one of the most beloved and respected journalists in Gaza, was killed yesterday by Israeli shelling.

    Known locally as “the godfather of Palestinian journalists,” Jadallah was the founder and chairman of the Gaza Press House—an organization dedicated to training the region’s future journalists and enhancing freedom of expression. He worked closely with many, if not most, of the local journalists in Gaza, helping dozens of aspiring reporters to get started in their careers through his mentorship programs.

    As reported by Reuters yesterday: “Jadallah told his sister earlier on Sunday he was heading out of Gaza City towards the south. He was killed in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City, said his sister, who added that people who found him and took him to a medical centre where he was declared dead said he had been killed by an Israeli tank shell.”

    In an online eulogy to his murdered brother, Ali Jadallah said that Belal was determined to stay in Gaza City for as long as he possibly could, believing he had a “moral duty to tell the world about what he was seeing.”

    Belal was one of six journalists killed by Israeli forces in Gaza over the weekend.

    As the Committee to Project Journalists reports today:

    The first month of the Israel-Gaza war is now the deadliest month for journalists since CPJ began documenting journalist fatalities in 1992.

    As of November 20, CPJ’s investigations showed at least 48 journalists and media workers were among more than 14,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with more than 13,000 deaths in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank and 1,200 in Israel. This deadly toll is coupled with harassment, detentions, and other reporting obstructions in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and beyond.

     

    The Israeli military has consistently been accused of targeting Palestinian journalists and media workers, as well as their families—both over the past six weeks and in the years previous.

     

    Below are just some of tributes paid to Jaddah by his family, colleagues, and friends over the past 24 hours:

    Belal Jadallah Gaza journalists Palestine

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